Ontario Premier Doug Ford took up the Captain Canada mantle last winter when U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punishing tariffs on Canada’s economy and there was a leadership vacuum at the federal level.
Ford regularly appeared on American TV stations, arguing passionately about how free and open trade between Canada and the United States is essential for the success of both economies.
But, since Trump made it clear he was digging in on his tariff policies, Ford has increasingly adopted policies that mirror Trump’s. His answer to American protectionism seems to be Canadian protectionism.
One of the Ford government’s responses to the tariff war was to introduce the Buy Ontario Act, 2025. The Act requires public sector organizations to prioritize Ontarian, and then Canadian, goods and services. It certainly makes sense for the government to want to strengthen domestic supply chains. However, requiring public-sector organizations to “Buy Ontario” can have adverse effects across several sectors, particularly health care.
Patient outcomes too important to jeopardize over trade war
Consider that a Buy Ontario procurement policy in the health-care sector could mean purchasing inferior products simply because they are made in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada. Or purchasing products that are far more expensive, driving up health-care costs at a time when the Ford government says those costs are becoming “unsustainable.”
There are also many critical technologies in use today that lack Ontario-based alternatives. This includes cardiac implants, diagnostic equipment and surgical robotics, among others. What are hospitals to do if they are unable to find suitable Ontario-made or Canadian products?
Ensuring our health-care supply chain remains sound must be the government’s number one priority. Restrictive procurement rules increase the risk of shortages and service disruptions, as well as deterring additional investment in the health sector at a time when Canadians are deeply concerned about the future of our health-care system.
Recent data show significant shortages in Canada’s health-care system, with medical device shortages up 19% in 2024-25 compared to the prior year. Restrictive procurement rules will only make Canada’s shortage problem worse.
Patient outcomes are too important to be jeopardized by having the medical technology sector caught up in the trade war.
Plus, in the medical technology sector, there are often parts that come from many different countries. The Ontario- or Canadian-made rules are troubling because, very often, some parts of a product may be made here, but other components are not. Figuring out whether a product should be deemed Ontarian or Canadian under the Ford government’s new rules will add all kinds of administrative delays and red tape to an industry that is already plagued by burdensome rules and regulations.
40% of medical tech imported from U.S.
There are also many U.S. companies that have a small footprint in Canada. To qualify as Ontarian or Canadian under the Ford government’s legislation, a U.S. company must have at least 250 employees here. That rules out most medical device companies, even if they do have a Canadian footprint.
Unlike in Ontario, the federal government seems to have recognized the importance of the medical technology sector and has excluded medical devices from retaliatory tariffs. The reality is that Canada currently imports 40% of its medical technology from the United States. Any legislation that makes it more difficult for Canadian hospitals to access cutting-edge technology from the United States will harm patients.
There’s also a risk that the United States could retaliate. Right now, 73% of Canada’s medical device exports go to the United States. If the Trump administration gets wind of the fact that Ford is trying to restrict Ontario hospitals’ access to American medical technology, there’s a very good chance that Trump could return the favour and jeopardize Canadian exports.
When your loved one is forced to go to the hospital, you want to know they are being treated with the best, most cutting-edge technology possible. And you don’t care where that technology comes from, be it Ontario, the United States or Europe.
It’s time for the Ford government to recognize that its Buy Ontario procurement rules will have a detrimental impact on the health sector. The Buy Ontario Act needs serious revisions, or else it needs to go. And this legislation should serve as a warning to other provinces that trying to score political points in a trade war can’t come at the expense of health-care outcomes.
Originally published here
