Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) held an Alberta Stakeholder Day at the Matrix Hotel in Edmonton on May 12, 2026. Brent Korte and Dr. Scott Klarenbach attended the event on behalf of ARWEC.
IMC is comprised of pharmaceutical companies in Canada, and the intent of the day was to dive into current and emerging areas of interest with provincial leaders and end users.
Dr. Klarenbach was part of a session on Technology in Health, one of several sessions throughout the day. As a quick overview:
Michael Lohner from Canadian Strategy Group, reported on the current political situation including the evolving re-focusing on healthcare, referendum issues and, at the time, pending cabinet shuffle.
The following technology session focused on new and emerging technology, how it is implemented and utilized within the Alberta health environment. Tara Cowling from Medlior moderated the session. Panelists included Dr. Scott Klarenbach (ARWEC), Dr. Neesh Pannu (Lead AI + Health Hub, University of Alberta) and Quinn Mah (Assistant Deputy Minister, Information and Technology at Alberta Primary and Preventative Health Services).
Each panelist presented briefly followed by questions. The conversation touched on Alberta’s rich data assets and emphasized the importance of access to data and the social license needed (i.e. taking the public with you), in the broader discussion about advancing the use of health data and AI to improve care, system learning and healthcare sustainability.
Dr. Klarenbach highlighted not only the strength of Alberta’s data assets, but also the strength of the ARWEC team, our process and several completed projects for the audience. The audience was interested in the projects that involved decision makers and informing them as best as possible (examples: robotic surgery, COVID).
~ Written by Brent Korte (edited for length and format)