The federal government is investing $100 million in a national health data platform aimed at improving health services, accelerating research and supporting Canadian innovation.
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon and Maggie Chi, parliamentary secretary to the minister of health, announced the funding June 23 in Toronto.
The investment will support the VITAL health data platform, which is being developed to securely connect de-identified clinical data from hospitals across Canada.
Platform to support research and innovation
The federal government says health data is often fragmented across hospitals, systems and jurisdictions, making it harder for researchers, clinicians and innovators to use it responsibly.
VITAL is designed to use near real-time clinical data from hospitals to create what Ottawa says will be the largest hospital data network in Canada.
The platform is expected to support health research, clinical trials and artificial intelligence innovation.
The federal government says the first phase of VITAL connects 160 hospitals across Ontario, Alberta and Quebec, serving more than 20 million Canadians.
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Privacy protections included
Ottawa says the platform will be sovereign and secure, with provinces and territories maintaining ownership and oversight of their hospital data.
The data will be de-identified and managed under governance frameworks that comply with federal and provincial health data protection standards.
The government says the platform also includes Indigenous-led governance to respect Indigenous data sovereignty and privacy.
Part of national AI strategy
The $100-million investment was announced as part of Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All.
The federal government had previously committed up to $30 million over three years for the initial development of VITAL in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
In 2025, VITAL also secured $24.5 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for a project aimed at expanding participation to rural hospitals, developing clinical trials software and integrating medical imaging data.
Health AI already in use
Ottawa says high-quality data is needed to support responsible artificial intelligence in health care.
The government says AI applications are already being used in multiple provinces for tasks such as predicting heart disease and detecting sepsis.
More than 80 Canadian companies are also working with health data and AI to improve triaging, remote monitoring and diagnostics.
Solomon said better health data can support better health care.
“Every day, our hospitals generate information that could help researchers discover new treatments, improve services and build the next generation of Canadian health innovation,” Solomon said in a release.
The federal government says the new funding could allow VITAL to expand to additional provinces and territories in the coming months.