Cancer screening. Vaccine wariness. Family doctors. Our watch list for health stories in 2026

endure twelvemonth, we go down come out a wide-ranging lean of health stories to watch in 2025, from avian flu to vaccines to the strain on the Canadian health-care system. We covered all those, and plenty of others, including a new drug approval for post-partum depression and novel genetic therapies for rare diseases. 

2025 was a year that saw old problems find new solutions. A new survey found almost six million Canadian adults still didn’t have a regular family doctor. Physicians, who were expected to manage the administrative as well as medical aspects of their practices, were burning out and leaving the profession. 

However, one small city in British Columbia decided to take matters into its own hands. Colwood, just outside of Victoria, offered to make their doctors municipal employees. These doctors get a salary, a pension, and most of all, work/life balance. 

The Colwood clinic opened earlier this year. Three doctors have been hired so far, with the goal of hiring five more by 2030. Word of the idea is spreading across the country, with municipalities, community health-care organizations and doctors all trying to replicate the same plan. It may not be something every family physician will embrace. But at a time when solutions are in short supply, thinking outside of the box can lead to breakthroughs. 

— Marcy Cuttler

To deal with a doctor shortage, this B.C. City has decided to start paying them directly

New cancer screening guidelines for Canadians are expected in 2026 and they’ll be coming from a newly revamped panel of experts. 

The body that issues national cancer screening guidelines, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, is undergoing a major overhaul following an external review. The task force was created by the federal government. 

Earlier this year, the federal health minister paused the task force’s work, after it received increasing scrutiny for continuing to recommend routine breast cancer screening start at 50 years old. 

The guidance went against evidence that showed screening should start at 40 years of age. 

This, along with years of mounting criticism against the panel for not taking expert advice, using outdated research and being too slow to update its guidelines, also led the federal health minister to launch a review. 

The published review offered several recommendations that the task force is currently working on. It’s expected to reconvene in April 2026. 

At the time its work was paused, the panel was looking at screening guidelines for prostate, cervical and lung cancer. 

— Jennifer La Grassa

Around the world, vaccine-preventable diseases have made an unwelcome comeback. 

Canada lost its measles elimination status this year after experiencing more than 5,000 cases of the highly contagious illness since Oct. 2024 — all while the country witnessed falling vaccination rates for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, among others. Cases continue to surge in the U.S. As well amid a backslide in routine immunizations.

Globally, more than 15 million children missed routine shots during the COVID-19 pandemic, one recent study showed.

What’s behind those drops? Beyond the widespread disruptions of the pandemic, vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and the politicization of time-tested vaccines keep fuelling this grim trend throughout high-income countries.

South of the border, vaccines remain a hot-button issue for the Trump administration, which now has a tight grip on the country’s public health bodies.

Canada loses its measles elimination status

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory panel recently voted to scrap a long-standing recommendation for all babies to get a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine at birth; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally directed the government agency to scrub its long-held stance that vaccines do not cause autism from the CDC’s website. 

Time will tell whether those policy shifts have a ripple-effect on views of vaccines in Canada as well.

But already, data suggests Canadians’ support for vaccines is slipping: New country-wide polling from Leger Healthcare found that, while a majority of the population remains confident in vaccines, more than a quarter of people surveyed reported they’re less confident in vaccinations than they were before.

The controversy and chaos around decades-old, routine immunizations — and the rise of vaccine-preventable diseases — is a topic we’ll be watching closely through 2026, since lives are at stake. A major study from The Lancet found global immunization efforts saved an estimated 154 million lives over the last half-century. Can that trend continue in today’s climate?

— Lauren Pelley

The new year may bring cheaper versions of Ozempic to Canadians.

Health Canada has approved Ozempic to treat diabetes but it’s often prescribed off-label for obesity. In Canada, the patent for the semaglutide will expire in January, and six companies are clamouring for Health Canada’s approval to manufacture and sell the generic version.

Due to a backlog at Health Canada it’s unlikely the cheaper medication will hit the shelves until late spring or early summer. 

No one knows exactly how much cheaper the generic drugs will be because that depends on how many companies get approved.

Ozempic currently costs between $200 and $400 per month. If three companies end up manufacturing the medication, the base price could drop to between $75 and $100 per month, according to Mina Tadrous, pharmacy professor at the University of Toronto.

Another reason to watch semaglutide drugs (like Ozempic) in 2026 is research.

There’s been a lot of buzz about all of the things they may treat in the future. It seems everything from addiction, heart disease and dementia are being studied. So far the results are mixed. When it comes to dementia the news isn’t good.

Last month, Novo Nordisk halted a major study that found the drug didn’t slow the progression of early Alzheimer's disease.

— Melanie Glanz

The WHO just backed Ozempic-like drugs. So what?

Too many people have lost their lives to the illegal drug supply and too many communities are impacted, Canada's medical officers of health said in a year-end update.

On average, 17 people now die nationwide every day due to the toxic drug crisis. That's the lowest observed since 2020.

Why the decline occurred isn't yet known, but researchers point to drug seizure data showing a decrease in potent carfentanil and other changes in the illegal drug supply as a likely key reason. Greater availability and use of naloxone to treat opioid overdoses also helps, the agency said.

But the morphing supply also poses challenges, with some provinces and territories reporting increases in potent nitazenes and other compounds. Doctors say reversing overdoses where those substances are involved can be harder compared with opioids alone.

"We see xylazine and medetomidine [a veterinary tranquilizer] pop up in patches," said Dr. Monty Ghosh, an addictions specialist in Edmonton and Calgary, noting smaller labs across Canada use precursors shipped from China. 

"The supply is ever-changing which makes it hard to understand trends and take action," Ghosh said. "It does often equate to tragic whack-a-mole."

— Amina Zafar

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

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