Bridge Research Consortium report highlights perspectives, recommendations on mRNA technology in Canada

by Mary Leong, special to the Faculty of Health Sciences

April 26–May 2, 2026 marks National Immunization Awareness Week in Canada. What do people in Canada think about mRNA medicines and how do they engage with information about mRNA technology online? 

Canada has become a global leader in the development of mRNA medicines; however, despite strong scientific evidence, mRNA technologies have been targeted by increasing partisan polarization and growing public mistrust in Canada and the United States. 

The Bridge Research Consortium (BRC), co-led by Simon Fraser University Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Professor Kelley Lee and Université Laval Professor Ève Dubé, seeks to better understand public sentiment around mRNA technology to strengthen public trust and support the adoption of immune-based innovations during health emergencies.

A diverse team of experts at BRC recently published a report examining perspectives towards mRNA technology in Canada. While the majority of survey respondents (62%) agree that mRNA technology is safe, uncertainty and skepticism about mRNA safety still persists. The report further examined trends in how people engage with mRNA-related content online and provided recommendations for best practices and strategies related to mRNA technology.

“Advancements in next-generation RNA technologies have the potential to transform how we treat and prevent disease — but realizing that full potential in Canada hinges on understanding public concerns, proactively building trust, and strengthening our communication approaches,” says Rackeb Tesfaye, BRC Knowledge Mobilization Lead and Senior Scientist.

Additional key findings from the report include: 

• National biomanufacturing security and sovereignty: Most people in Canada (84%) support increasing Canada's capacity to manufacture its own vaccines and medicines — including populations most hesitant about the safety of mRNA technology.

• Social media influencers: Most of the negative online content in Canada about mRNA is driven by influencers — most of whom do not have professional health or medical credentials. There is a significant information gap on social media from mainstream news sources (3.1%) and government sources (0.5%).

• Negative narratives dominate: Most mRNA‑related posts on social media express skepticism or hostility, primarily emphasizing perceived vaccine harms linked to COVID‑19 (68%) and skepticism about mRNA technology in vaccine development (10%), often within the Canadian political context. 

• Spikes in online discourse: Spikes in online mRNA discourse in Canada were largely driven by politically charged events, particularly U.S. partisan announcements and vaccination‑related controversies involving bodies such as the U.S. Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Alberta government.

• Artificial intelligence: As people in Canada increasingly turn to chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) for health information, preliminary research indicates that chatbots were able to answer basic vaccine-related questions accurately. However, they struggled to provide error-free scientific sources to support their answers.

• Vaccine hesitancy is a sociopolitical issue: Foster transparency around government and industry relationships, design and implement less coercive vaccine policies, and develop appropriate public health communications with diverse groups — particularly those with complex historical relationships with the health sector.  

For more details on BRC’s findings and recommendations, read the full report here.