Canada’s foreign policy is being tested by a convergence of transboundary crises: pandemic threats, accelerating climate change, geopolitical instability, and environmental disasters that increasingly cross borders and sectors. These challenges cannot be managed through diplomacy, development assistance, or scientific investment alone. They require integrated strategies that connect health, environment, and international engagement. One Health offers such a framework and, if strategically deployed, a powerful but underused tool of Canadian diplomacy – one already embedded in global governance through the Quadripartite collaboration of the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Organisation for Animal Health. Together, the Quadripartite provides the world’s primary institutional platform for coordinating One Health action across human, animal, and environmental systems.
The 2025 Canadian Global Health Report, Protecting Our Collective Future, calls for renewed global health leadership grounded in equity, academic engagement, and One Health. Yet Canada has not fully translated this vision into a coherent diplomatic strategy. One Health is often treated as a technical or academic concept rather than as an instrument of foreign policy. This represents a missed opportunity at a moment when global health, climate risk, and geopolitical stability are increasingly inseparable.
One Health is defined as a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach that links human, animal, and environmental health. It is widely recognized as essential for addressing zoonotic spillover, food insecurity, antimicrobial resistance, and climate-related health threats. Beyond its scientific foundations, however, One Health offers a distinct model of international engagement, one that operates through cooperation rather than competition, and through institutions rather than ad hoc crisis response.
One Health diplomacy, a focused form of global health diplomacy, sits at the intersection of health, environment, and foreign policy. It advances international cooperation through shared scientific agendas, academic partnerships, and regional capacity-building. Unlike traditional diplomacy, which often centres on state-to-state negotiation, One Health diplomacy is sustained through research networks, training platforms, and long-term institutional relationships. At a time when multilateral health governance is under strain, this approach offers a pragmatic pathway to rebuilding trust and collective action.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated both the value and the limits of Canada’s current approach. Early warning systems such as the Global Public Health Intelligence Network and government-supported research institutions like the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization illustrated Canada’s scientific strengths. Canada’s engagement through the World Health Organization and COVAX further showed how diplomatic and financial commitments can advance both equity and national security. Yet the pandemic also exposed persistent fragmentation: siloed health systems, uneven global coordination, and weak integration between science and diplomacy. One Health diplomacy provides a framework for addressing these gaps before the next global crisis emerges.
In an era marked by rising nationalism, reduced multilateral funding, and protectionist trade policies, One Health diplomacy can also support economic and geopolitical resilience. Cross-border cooperation on food safety, zoonotic surveillance, and environmental regulation helps reduce shared risk and buffer against supply-chain disruption. In this sense, One Health diplomacy is not only a public health strategy, but a stabilizing force in an increasingly volatile global landscape.
G7 discussions, including commitments made at the 2025 Kananaskis Summit, reflect a growing recognition that climate resilience, early warning systems, and disaster response are shared global responsibilities and that environmental crises are also public health crises. These signals align closely with One Health principles, yet they remain largely disconnected from Canada’s broader diplomatic and academic engagement strategies.
Domestically, Canada has continued to invest in research, innovation, and university-based science. Canadian institutions are also generating world-class work in infectious disease, climate modelling, environmental monitoring, and health systems research. These investments are essential and should be protected. However, scientific capacity alone does not translate into global influence or preparedness unless it is deliberately linked to long-term partnerships, diplomatic priorities, and institutions capable of applying knowledge across borders.
Canada is well positioned to lead in One Health diplomacy. It has a strong academic ecosystem, robust public health infrastructure, and a longstanding international reputation for equity and multilateralism. Yet its global engagement on One Health remains fragmented. While the 2025 Global Health Report emphasizes equitable partnerships and One Health integration, implementation mechanisms are weak. There is no coordinated strategy for academic diplomacy, nor a clear pathway for Canadian institutions to co-lead international One Health initiatives. Current funding structures continue to prioritize short-term outputs over durable South–North partnerships grounded in mutual benefit.
Indeed, academic institutions are a critical but underutilized component of Canada’s foreign policy toolbox. Universities can serve as neutral conveners, trusted knowledge producers, and engines of long-term international collaboration. A deliberate academic diplomacy strategy, anchored in Canadian universities and aligned with foreign policy objectives, would allow Canada to exert sustained influence in global health governance while reinforcing its commitments to equity and multilateralism.
Moving from rhetoric to implementation requires concrete steps. Canada should:
- Fund South–North One Health fellowships that promote reciprocal exchange between Canadian and Global South researchers.
- Establish a Global One Health Academic Network anchored in Canadian universities and built on principles of mutual benefit.
- Support Canadian academic leaders to serve on international One Health policy bodies, including WHO and Quadripartite expert groups.
- Integrate One Health more explicitly into development assistance frameworks, particularly in climate resilience and health systems strengthening.
Together, these actions would connect Canada’s scientific strengths with its diplomatic ambitions. They would position One Health not as a niche academic interest, but as a strategic asset in addressing planetary-scale risks. At a time when health threats increasingly transcend borders and sectors, Canada’s global engagement will be judged not only by the science it produces, but by how effectively that science is translated into shared security, resilience, and global public good.
Luz Roberie
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