Santé Québec and medical equipment suppliers brace for U.S. tariffs

The roller-coaster of tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump has many medical equipment suppliers for hospitals across the country holding their breath.

The national trade association representing medical technology in Canada is asking the federal and provincial governments to exclude its industry from all retaliatory measures against the United States, says Medtech Canada vice-president Olivier Bourbeau.

Radio-Canada is reporting that in a recent letter sent to premiers and Council of the Federation chair Doug Ford, Medtech Canada and its American counterpart AdvaMed say "it is crucial to repeatedly stress that the medical technology industry could become unsustainable … with major negative consequences for provincial health-care systems and patients."

The letter notes that doctors and patients rely heavily on medical technology for diagnostic imaging, orthopedic prosthetics, pacemakers, diabetes devices, wound care, or personal protective equipment like masks and gloves.

Trump said he intends to announce on Monday the U.S. would impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including those from Canada, as well as import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on U.S. goods.

According to industry data, Canada exports about $3.1 billion in medical technology and imports $8.6 billion, nearly 40 per cent of which comes from the U.S.

Bourbeau said some in the industry fear provinces will implement retaliatory measures themselves, such as imposing penalties or tariffs and preventing U.S. companies from bidding on government contracts.

"For some equipment … there is no alternative elsewhere," said the Medtech Canada vice-president.

The medical technology industry has 1,500 companies in Canada that employ 35,000 people.

Products not easily replaceable

Despite the threat of tariffs, the CHU de Québec purchase department recently announced its plans to sign a private contract with a well-known supplier in the U.S. for sphincterotomes.

The health centre said in a news release "they represent critical instruments that have a direct impact on ERCP [endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography] success rates."

"Replacing them with other sphincterotomes, even with similar qualities, would not be acceptable to specialists and patients," it said.

However, a spokesperson for Santé Québec Marie-Ève Depatie-Gagnon says the Crown corporation is working on a risk mitigation plan and identifying products it could replace to lessen the effects of tariffs.

"We are urgently drawing up a list of contracts awarded to American suppliers in the health network," a spokesperson for Santé Québec said in an email.

In 2022, the medical technology procurement industry represented about 40 per cent of the value of public health-care contracts annually.