A meeting took place in Ottawa on October 26, 2026, between Hadja Lahbib, European Union Commissioner for Crisis Preparedness and Crisis Management, and Mélanie Joly, Canadian Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Economic Development in Quebec. The parties confirmed a strong partnership between the EU and Canada in the field of preparation and response to public health emergencies. The main focus of the negotiations was the expansion of cooperation on medical countermeasures—vaccines, pharmaceutical drugs, diagnostic tools, and other instruments necessary to combat epidemics and other threats to public health. Both sides emphasized the importance of joint efforts to strengthen the resilience of health systems in the face of future crises. A joint statement published by the European Commission underscores the EU and Canada's commitment to deepening transatlantic cooperation on global biosecurity issues. The partners intend to coordinate actions on advance planning, information sharing, and joint development of technologies that will enable faster response to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. This meeting continued many years of dialogue between Brussels and Ottawa on health matters, which intensified following the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed the need for closer international coordination in the field of medical preparedness.