Connected Care for Canadians Act aims to promote unobstructed access to electronic health information

Originally introduced in the House of Commons on June 6, 2024, Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act (the Act), was reintroduced by the Senate and received first reading on February 4, 2026. In the federal government’s effort to create a more connected health system, the Act would require health information technology vendors to ensure their products are interoperable, meaning they would allow for the easy access, use, and exchange of Canadians’ electronic health information. The Act would also prohibit data blocking, which is any practice or act that prevents, discourages, or interferes with that access, use, or exchange. Furthermore, the Act would enable the government to create a mechanism for receiving complaints, assessing compliance, and issuing monetary penalties to vendors found in breach of the law.

What you need to know

• The Act would require the interoperability of health information technology that is licensed, sold, or supplied as a service by a vendor and prohibits data blocking by vendors.
• This federal legislation would grant provincial and territorial governments the ability to impose specific requirements on health information technology vendors.
• The Act would only apply in provinces or territories that do not have “requirements that are substantially similar to or exceed those established under this Act”¹.

Scope of application

If enacted, the Act would apply to any individual or organization that licenses or sells health information technology or supplies it as a service. “Health information technology” is broadly defined to include hardware, software, and other tools used for the use or exchange of electronic health information and related activities.

“Electronic health information” covers personal health information, including de-identified data. The expansive definition of “personal health information” encompasses any information concerning the physical or mental health of a living or deceased individual.

Although these definitions may be amended through regulations, the current definitions are broad enough to capture parties that have not previously been subject to health privacy laws directly, including software developers and service providers.

Key requirements of the Act

The Act requires vendors to ensure that the health information technology they license, sell, or supply as a service is interoperable. To be interoperable, the technology must:

• allow users to access and use all electronic health information easily, completely, and securely, to the extent permitted by law;
• exchange electronic health information with other health information technologies, as allowed under applicable law; and
• meet any additional requirements set by regulations.

The Act also prohibits “data blocking” by vendors, which is defined as a practice or act that prevents, discourages, or interferes with access to or the use or exchange of electronic health information.

In its press release², the federal government states that the ability for systems to interact is necessary for patient safety as there must be common standards in Canada to protect and secure information exchange across various systems. It was noted that only 29% of healthcare providers currently share electronic information outside of their offices, referencing the use of fax machines as “unacceptable” when other sectors have adopted fully digital records years ago.

New regulatory powers

The Act would authorize the government to create a mechanism for receiving complaints, assessing compliance, and issuing administrative monetary penalties where breaches occur. The government is permitted to make regulations on matters including:

• standards and specifications for interoperability, practices or acts that constitute data blocking, and the framework governing the prohibition of data blocking;
• the criteria used to determine whether a province or territory’s requirements are substantially similar to, or exceed, those under the Act;
• the manner and circumstances in which the Minister of Health may verify compliance with the Act;
• procedures for handling complaints concerning a vendor’s non‑compliance;
• an administrative monetary penalty regime for violations of the Act’s key requirements; and
• the process for reviewing the Minister’s determinations of compliance or non‑compliance.

Should the Act take effect, additional standards are expected to be clarified through regulation.

Next steps

While the Act is not yet law, vendors and healthcare providers should continue to monitor its progress closely. Many existing agreements between vendors and healthcare providers may not align with the Act’s requirements, particularly regarding permitted uses and disclosures of electronic health information to third parties, and thus will require amendment or renegotiation if the Act comes into force.

Vendors and healthcare providers should assess whether their current processes and contractual constraints impede interoperability or contribute to data blocking. It would also be prudent for vendors to identify how to embed interoperability into their products and services by design.

Regulation of the delivery of healthcare falls under the mandate of the provinces and territories. Thus, while the Act is federal legislation aimed at creating a national standard, vendors should expect individual provinces and/or hospital health networks to develop more stringent requirements.