Canadian Brain Economy Declaration urges G7 leaders to strengthen brain health
June 13, 2025
As the cost of brain conditions is expected to balloon to $16 trillion by 2030, G7 leaders and Canada are uniquely positioned to deliver solutions.
The Ontario Brain Institute is part of a growing international coalition of scientific, business, and policy leaders who have issued a declaration calling on G7 leaders to adopt a policy roadmap that will deliver sustained progress on brain health to boost economic growth and stabilize health costs.
The Canadian Brain Economy Declaration builds on the expanding body of evidence that an erosion of brain health represents an imminent crisis that could cripple major economies if businesses, health systems, and governments do not adopt transformative and coordinated solutions.
The recommendations will be made public during the G7 Canada Brain Economy Summit in Calgary on June 14. They outline concrete steps G7 leaders can take in 2025 to prioritize the creation of a global brain economy, one that will power a more resilient, productive future fueled by healthy brains to meet the rising global demand for brain capital.
Sustainable economic growth and human development depend on brain capital — a combination of brain health and brain skills that is rapidly emerging as a key driver of competitive advantage. Realizing its full potential will require nations to support healthy brain function across the workforce, address conditions such as mental, neurological, and substance use disorders, and promote brain skills like creativity, emotional regulation, and adaptability.
The core recommendations included in the Canada Brain Economy Declaration are:
- Instruct Finance and Health Ministers to develop a coordinated plan to accelerate the brain economy, including concrete investment and policy proposals
- Establish a G7+ Brain Economy Working Group to align efforts across countries and sectors
- Convene a G7 Brain Economy Conference to scale proven solutions and forge new partnerships
- Include brain capital in the 2025 Leaders’ Communiqué, positioning it as central to economic stability and innovation
The economic burden of brain and mental health conditions is mounting. In G7 countries, these conditions are now the leading cause of disability and a major driver of lost productivity. Yet government investment and policy coordination remain decades behind the scale of the crisis — leaving people and economies vulnerable. Brain health includes mental, neurological, and substance use disorders that affect individuals across all life stages — from early childhood and adolescence to working-age adults and older populations.
The Declaration makes clear that this is not simply a health or aging issue: It is a business and labor issue that drives national competitiveness and global economic growth. G7 countries have strong, educated workforces, but they are failing to convert that potential into productivity gains. In Canada, for example, GDP per capita has declined for three consecutive years despite having the largest proportion of working-age people in the G7. That mismatch, the Declaration argues, is the brain economy gap.
G7 leaders have a precedent for this kind of action. Past summits have led global responses to pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and financial instability. The erosion of brain capital is another systemic risk—but this one is preventable. The Declaration urges leaders to act now—and to commit to sustained progress through the 2026 G7 Summit in France.
The Canada Brain Economy Declaration represents the culmination of a months-long effort that brought together more than 100 senior global leaders from government, business, research, and civil society through a series of roundtables, consultations, and convenings aligned with the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit.
The effort was convened by the Alzheimer’s Society of Montreal, Canadian Brain Research Strategy, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, European Brain Council, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Rice University, University of Calgary, and the Ontario Brain Institute.
The coalition also gratefully acknowledge the hundreds of other individuals and organizations — across sectors and borders — whose thought leadership, time, and collaboration helped shape this global movement and the Declaration it has produced.
LEARN MORE