Canada West Health Leaders Conference 2026

Call for Abstracts

You are invited to submit abstracts to be considered for a concurrent session. Abstracts should address leadership lessons learned, patient and family involvement, and one or more of the LEADS domains. The Conference Planning Committee encourages proposals which express innovative, practical, and creative ways for presenting information to attendees. Proposals should be for interactive session and not simply didactic presentations.

Guidelines for corporate submissions

We welcome submissions from private sector partners, provided that they address (a) cooperative venture(s) with a non-profit sector partner and include the latter as a co-presenter.

The abstract should present an unbiased description of a certain method or service, discussing both pros and cons. Subtle and/or blatant advertisement of any products or services is in direct conflict with the spirit of the conference. Examples of the former include repeated references to products or trade names and excessive use of corporate logos and trademarks in graphic illustrations. Photographs of commercial equipment are not permitted unless they add educational value. The Planning Committee insists that all presenters understand without exception, that commercialism is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. Abstracts including commercialism will be disqualified. Presenters are asked to abide by these constraints when preparing their abstracts, and presentations.

Conflict of Interest

The Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) requires clear disclosures from all presenters at the Canada West Health Leaders Conference regarding any financial holdings, funding sources, or affiliations that might raise questions of bias or be perceived to have potentially influenced presentation content. CCHL expects that all conference speakers, organizers, and moderators are committed to full, forthright, and transparent disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest. The CCHL has not prescribed an exhaustive list of potential conflicts here; rather, we ask presenters to make a good faith effort to identify any issues that might reasonably be expected to raise conflict-of-interest questions.

Presenters are asked to disclose any concerns or questions regarding a conflict of interest by contacting Brianna Sowlles at bsowlles@cchl-ccls.ca.

Presentation formats

Your abstract should fit into one of the below presentation formats, which you can indicate during the submission process. Please note that the Planning Committee reserves the right to accept abstracts for a different presentation format than indicated in the submission if desired.

• Workshop: Workshops are a great way to deliver skill-based training while keeping your attendees engaged and interested. Workshops typically involve audience participation, which maintains attention and tests newly learnt knowledge. The duration of the workshop sessions is 90 minutes and must include audience engagement. Please download, complete, and upload the session timeline table as part of your abstract submission. There is a maximum of three (3) speakers.

• Panel presentation: Panels should include a group of speaker presentations addressing a common issue or topic from different perspectives, followed by an interactive discussion. The panel should be submitted as a single presentation. The duration of panel sessions is 90 minutes, 30 minutes of which must include audience engagement. Please download, complete, and upload the session timeline table as part of your abstract submission. There is a maximum of three (3) speakers.

• Lightning presentations: A lightning session includes multiple short presentations from different speakers on the same or similar topic. In a lightning session, each speaker has 10 minutes to present a maximum of 10 slides, one slide per minute. Because lightning talks are brief, the speaker must make their point clearly and concisely while avoiding non-critical information. This format allows for many ideas to be presented in a short amount of time. The session will include a short introduction from the moderator and will feature five 10-minute presentations followed by 30 minutes of audience engagement for idea sharing and questions. Lightning presentations should highlight success stories of collective leadership or collective reflection. There is a maximum of one (1) speaker per lightning presentation.

Presentation Topics

Your abstract should fit into one of the below topics, which you can indicate during the submission process:

• Adapting to emerging technologies: Readying healthcare teams for the future.
• Collaboration in healthcare leadership: Charting a unified path forward through collaboration across departments, organizations, and sectors.
• Creating a culture of adaptability: Cultivate a culture that embraces continuous learning and flexibility to thrive in an unpredictable environment.
• Enhancing models of care: Enabling teams with work differently with available resources to meet patient/population care needs.

Abstracts submissions should also reflect and integrate CCHL’s foundational commitments:

• Planetary health / Sustainability;
• Equity, Diversity, Inclusion;
• Indigenous Health; and
• Patient Voice.

Abstract structure guidelines

Abstracts should be prepared in paragraph format, with a clear session title, written as a session description. The abstract should also clearly state the learning objectives. Submissions must not exceed 300 words.

Example of an abstract submission:

Catchy Session Title

This is the session description, which tells an attendee everything they need to know about what to expect at this session. Indicate the purpose of the session, how it relates to the presentation topic and the conference theme, what practical applications can be expected, how patients or families are involved, and how this session integrates CCHL’s foundational commitments here.

Learning objectives:

• Demonstrate how the abstract should appear
• Clarify any confusion about the abstract structure

Submission instructions

The abstract should be prepared in paragraph format keeping in mind the 300-word limit. The word limit excludes the title. You can copy and paste the text from your document into the abstract submission form.

You will require the following information to complete the abstract submission form:

• Primary contact person (As the primary contact, only this person will receive correspondence and is expected to share it with their co-presenters. The submitter should be the primary contact);
• Presentation topic. Select one topic as indicated above that best fits your abstract (Adapting to emerging technologies, Collaboration in healthcare leadership, Creating a culture of adaptability, Enhancing models of care);
• Target audience. The ideal audience for the presentation (i.e. CEOs, senior leaders, middle management, emerging leaders);
• LEADS Framework domain. The domain that best fits the presentation as per the LEADS framework. (i.e. Lead self, Engage others, Achieve results, Develop coalitions, or Systems transformation);
• A completed session timeline table (for panels and workshops); and
• The name, title, organization, contact information, a headshot, and a 50-word biography for each

Once your abstract is prepared, please click on the link below to start completing the online submission form.

Submit Your Abstract Here

Selection criteria

All abstracts will be peer-reviewed and selected according to how well they meet the following criteria:

• Statement of purpose
• Relevance to selected topic & theme
• Practical applications
• Patient and family involvement
• CCHL’s foundational commitments
• Learning objectives
• Participant engagement activities, originality, and innovation

All criteria will be scored on a scale of 1 to 10. All criteria are weighted equally. Please reference the evaluation criteria rubric for additional information.

The Planning Committee reserves the right to accept abstracts for a different presentation format than indicated in the submission. The Planning Committee reserves the right to limit the number of abstracts accepted from one organization.

Speaker Compensation

The Canadian College of Health Leaders is pleased to offer each abstract presenter a 25% discount on the full conference registration cost.

Please note that abstract presenters are responsible for their conference registration fee should they wish to participate in the conference as well as all related expenses such as accommodation and travel. CCHL does not provide any honorarium, and reduced cost registrations are not transferable.

All abstract submissions will receive an email confirmation email. If a confirmation is not received, please contact conference@cchl-ccls.ca.

Important dates

March 27, 2026                        Online abstract submission opens
April 30, 2026                          Abstract submission deadline
June 5, 2026                             Notification of selected abstracts
October 20 – 21, 2026            Canada West Health Leaders Conference

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Abstracts must be received by 11:59 p.m. April 30, 2026.

Our Sponsors

Hoping to gain exposure, build good will, and connect with health leaders?

Sponsoring CCHL’s Canada West Health Leaders Conference might be the perfect approach.

With a stellar program, we know that the Canada West Health Leaders Conference will provide an inspiring and interactive environment for top decision makers in the healthcare field and will offer you many networking opportunities. The College is offering a number of levels of sponsorship. Each level provides the sponsor with a significant list of benefits and opportunities. Flexibility is available at each level.

Please contact Dan Gibson at dgibson@cchl-ccls.ca with any questions.

For more information

Conferences & Events Team
conference@cchl-ccls.ca

See our past Canada West Health Leaders Conferences

View our past CWHLC conferences: Find Out More