AI Scribes Demonstrate Healthcare AI’s Potential, but Fragmentation Risks Canada’s Commercialization Opportunity

August 25, 2026 – Artificial intelligence (AI) scribes have demonstrated strong clinician demand and measurable benefits, but Canada’s fragmented procurement and regulatory systems could prevent the country from safely translating early adoption into a competitive healthcare AI sector, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Health Sector Economic Growth and Resilience Working Group. 

Composed of experts from the public sector, business, and academia, the group met for its fourth session to examine the adoption, oversight, and commercialization of AI in Canada’s healthcare system, with a particular focus on the rapidly scaling use of AI-generated clinical documentation, or “AI scribes.” The meeting coincided with a federal-provincial announcement expanding shared clinical data infrastructure as part of Canada’s National AI Strategy. 

The discussion began with a presentation from Shelley Spence, Auditor General of Ontario, warning of the governance and accuracy gaps in the initial procurement of these tools. A recent Ontario Public Service audit found that employees could access unsanctioned and unsecured AI tools from government-issued devices and that very few had completed recommended training. Separately, Supply Ontario’s assessment of AI scribe vendors found that all 20 evaluated products exhibited some incorrect medical information, including AI hallucinations or incomplete documentation. As AI tools continue to rapidly evolve, so must the public systems responsible for evaluation, validation and procurement.  

Krista Balenko, Vice President, Enablement and Operations at Canada Health Infoway, then explored the rapid scale in use, citing a national AI Scribe initiative that offered primary care clinicians a 12-month funded licence, with demand far exceeding expectations, as more than 10,000 providers registered within two weeks. An independent evaluation also found that roughly 90 percent of clinicians considered the tools valuable, and nearly 70 percent reported less administrative burden. 

Gavin Tong, Canadian Health Industry Data and AI Lead at Accenture, then examined Canada’s healthcare AI commercialization gap relative to international peers. Although Canada has strong AI research, rich longitudinal health data and an educated workforce, companies must still navigate separate procurement processes, regulatory requirements and reimbursement pathways across 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Participants argued that greater coordination could make Canada a far more attractive market for health technology companies, although some cautioned that fragmentation reflects broader features of Canadian health federalism that procurement reform alone cannot solve. 

The Working Group concluded that Canada has many of the foundations needed to become a leader in healthcare AI. While questions remain around public trust, AI use outside governed channels and workforce impacts, participants generally viewed the risks of under-investing in healthcare AI as greater than the risks of broader adoption, provided accuracy, bias and security safeguards keep pace with deployment. 

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For more information, contact: Raquel Schneider, Communications Officer, C.D. Howe Institute, 647-805-3918, rschneider@cdhowe.org.  

The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada’s most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review. 

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