Canada

National AMR research program
National action plans
MB representatives

Canada is represented in JPIAMR by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through the Institute of Infection and Immunity (III).

As the initiating country and a major funder for JPIAMR, CIHR III staff has a place on the Management Board as well as Call Steering Group and has provided input to the call text as well as the generation of an MOU and design of the application and peer review processes. CIHR has previous experience of collaboration on other JPI and ERA-NET programs.

CIHR has made substantial investments in discovery research focused on antibiotic resistance and III has supported several targeted initiatives in the areas of drug development, alternative therapies, combination approaches and infection control. Canada’s interest in JPIAMR stems from a desire to combine the resources, infrastructures, and expertise of many countries to provide a value-added, collaborative approach that will fast track the development of effective solutions to antimicrobial resistance.

Canada, through CIHR-III, has also lead the development a JPIAMR Virtual Research Institute (JPIAMR-VRI), which will provide a platform to increase coordination, improve visibility of the AMR researcher base and facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity development across the globe, covering the full One Health spectrum.

CIHR-III also represents Canada on the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR), which was created in 2009 to address the urgent threat of antimicrobial resistance. Collaboration across government agencies from Canada, the European Union, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States enhances synergy and communication, leading to strengthened domestic and global efforts.

CIHR-III is one of the Canadian representatives on the Global AMR Research and Development (R&D) Hub. This hub is aimed at maximizing the impact of existing and new initiatives in antimicrobial basic and clinical research as well as product development. The Global AMR R&D Hub connects funders from around the world to facilitate information exchange on funding streams, promote high-level alignment of funding, and mobilize additional resources for push and pull incentives.

National AMR research program and activities

National AMR Research Calls

Activities on AMR at national level

The development of the pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR is ongoing and will be released soon. A new task force involving public health agencies was established in 2022. This task force aims to release the new pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR by December 2022. Through open and strategic funding over the last five years (2015-2020), CIHR has invested over $130.7M in AMR research to address different aspects of this global health issue, including the discovery and design of new antimicrobials, target identification and alternative therapeutics diagnostics, surveillance and stewardship to strengthen AMR research.

In June 2020, Canada published the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS) Report which provides a detailed assessment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Canada. This report also provides recent information on the amount of antimicrobials used in humans and animals, as antimicrobial use (AMU) is one of the key drivers of AMR.

In November 2019, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) issued the report “When Antibiotics Fail” which examines the current and future impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on the health and wealth of Canada, and looks at how widespread resistance will influence the day-to-day lives of Canadians and explores promising strategies to mitigate the issue. The report presents new health and economic data for Canada through a One Health lens, recognizing the interconnected nature of AMR, from healthcare settings to the environment to the agriculture sector. It is the most comprehensive assessment of this global threat in the Canadian context.

National action plans

Management Board representatives

  • Charu Kaushic, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity
  • Suzete Dos Santos, Canadian Institutes of Health Research