CTO 2026: What’s Changing in Canada’s Clinical Trials?

From shorter study start-up timelines to patient access, the CTO 2026 conference will examine early progress and the questions still to be resolved.

Canada accounts for approximately 4% of global clinical trial activity, according to Health Canada.

At last year’s Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO) Conference, researchers and industry leaders discussed familiar challenges, such as lengthy study start-up timelines, inconsistent research ethics processes and barriers to patient participation.

We heard from Dr. PJ Devereaux of McMaster University, who called for a single national research ethics review process with strict timelines, and Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan of University Health Network (UHN), who spoke about the practical demands clinical trials place on patients.

This year, clinical research leaders will gather at the annual CTO Clinical Trials Conference, taking place November 4–5 in Toronto, to discuss how Canada can conduct trials more efficiently, improve patient access and strengthen its position in global research. Xtalks returns as an official media partner for the event.

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What’s on the Agenda at CTO 2026?

CTO 2026 will explore Canada’s clinical research competitiveness, regulatory modernization, patient access, AI and health data, along with new approaches to clinical research and care.

Former Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott will deliver the opening keynote on Canada’s competitiveness and connecting research with patient care. Other featured speakers include Health Canada’s Dr. Supriya Sharma, who will discuss regulatory modernization, and Dr. Tor Biering-Sørensen, who will share clinical trial approaches from Denmark and the European Union.

Sessions will also examine psilocybin research, Indigenous research sovereignty and patient perspectives on breast cancer treatment.

Can Canada Get Clinical Trials Started Faster?

Clinical Trials Ontario launched QuickSTART in September to coordinate contracts, budgets and ethics reviews within a 45-day study start-up timeline. Traditionally, getting a clinical trial ready to enroll patients can take three to six months or longer. QuickSTART aims to bring these steps together so hospitals, research teams and sponsors can work on them at the same time, helping studies get underway sooner.

Early pilot studies completed the pathway in under 40 days, including one at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute that finished in under 20 days.

At CTO 2026, panelists involved in developing and testing QuickSTART will share their experiences from the first studies.

In January, CanReview made an agreement available for institutions to join Canada’s national single research ethics review system for multisite trials. Its framework targets initial ethics review feedback within 28 business days of application acceptance.

Health Canada also introduced an interim policy in September to support coordinated ethics reviews and more flexible ways of documenting informed consent, including remote and electronic methods. Health Canada is working toward implementing broader clinical trial regulations, currently expected to take effect in spring 2028.

New Research Questions and Patient Perspectives

Two especially interesting areas on this year’s agenda are psilocybin research and how patients experience clinical trials and treatment.

A dedicated session on psilocybin will explore its history, clinical trials currently underway in Canada and the questions surrounding psychedelic-assisted care. Speakers include Dr. Claudio Soares of Queen’s University and Dr. Ishrat Husain of University Health Network, alongside Justin Jennings of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Patient perspectives will also take centre stage with insights from Dr. Mark Clemons of The Ottawa Hospital and Beth Ciavaglia, a patient advocate and clinical trial participant. Their conversation will explore a breast cancer treatment de-escalation study and Beth’s experience participating in the research.

Other patient-focused discussions will examine efforts to expand clinical trials in rural Nova Scotia and a study presented by Dr. Michel Shamy of The Ottawa Hospital exploring advance consent for acute stroke trials. While most study participants supported advance consent, researchers identified regulatory uncertainty around emergency research consent as a challenge.

Explore the 2026 CTO Conference agenda or register to attend the event at the Hilton Toronto this November.

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