Experts say Canada’s plan to build a $267-million medical countermeasures laboratory in Winnipeg is a vital step toward heading off future pandemics, but they warn the facility faces steep hurdles around long-term funding, staffing and governance.

The federal government announced a $10.2-million design contract for the facility last week, with the finished building slated to open in 2033 next to Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML).

While the lab aims to bridge a critical gap in testing early-stage vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tools, health researchers caution that a brand-new building will accomplish little without sustained, decades-long investments in human talent.

“It’s one thing to have a building, but it’s another thing to have the human resources that will make it a world-class centre,” said Dr. Joanne Liu, a physician and professor at McGill University’s School of Population and Global Health, and former international president of Médecins Sans Frontières.