Canada's national dementia strategy

What is a dementia strategy?

Dementia strategies can vary a lot from country to country, but generally they all allow for government agencies and stakeholders to coordinate and collaborate on the following:

• Raising awareness of dementia and eliminating stigma;
• Funding and supporting innovative dementia research that advance therapies and work toward finding a cure;
• Promoting healthy strategies to reduce the risk of dementia;
• Improving care and support among programs and services that help people with dementia and caregivers; and
• Collecting public health data on dementia to track the progress and impact of all of the above.

How can we be sure that dementia strategies work?

• We know from successful launches of dementia strategies in other countries that coordinated and targeted action at the national level delivers results (see What other countries currently have national strategies in place?, below).
• We also know that pan-Canadian strategies can significantly improve quality of care and longevity of life – for example, see the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC).

What will Canada's national dementia strategy do?

Canada's national dementia strategy – A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire – will address the overwhelming scale, impact and cost of dementia in Canada through three key objectives:

1. Prevent dementia,
2. Advance therapies and find a cure, and
3. Improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and caregivers.

The national dementia strategy is the single most powerful tool to improve dementia care and support, making it a necessary next step for Canada. The strategy ensures that all Canadians living with dementia, their families and their caregivers have the same level of access, quality of care and services, regardless of where they live.

Proven programs and supports will be scaled up and shared across jurisdictions and will benefit everyone, from people living with dementia to their caregivers and healthcare providers.

How did the strategy happen?

June 22, 2017

Thanks to advocacy efforts from stakeholders across the country, Bill C-233, the National Strategy for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias Act is signed into law. With this bill passed, Canada could begin developing a national dementia strategy.

Read more about the passing of Bill C-233.

May 14-15, 2018

The Government of Canada hosts the National Dementia Conference in Ottawa, collecting thoughts and opinions about the potential strategy from a group of participants that included people with dementia, caregivers, researchers, health professionals, advocacy groups as well as representatives from provincial and territorial governments.

Read the official conference report.

During this conference, the Minister of Health announces the formation of a Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia (see below), which will advise on dementia care and the development of the national dementia strategy. The CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, Pauline Tardif, is named co-chair.

Read the announcement of the Ministry Advisory Board on Dementia.

March 20, 2019

The 2019 federal budget invests $50 million over five years to support implementation of the national dementia strategy. This funding comes on top of the $20 million for community-based dementia projects announced in the 2018 budget. As well, the Minister of Seniors is established with a mandate to work with the Minister of Health on dementia-related issues.

Read the Alzheimer Society of Canada's response to the budget.

June 17, 2019

Almost two years after it was first announced, Canada’s first-ever national dementia strategy launches: A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire.

Read the strategy in full on the Government of Canada website.

Now that the strategy has launched, what’s next?

The next big step is creating an action plan. Strategies succeed when they can follow clear targets, structures and deadlines. An action plan will handle this, outlining concrete activities for the Government of Canada to accomplish within a specific time-frame.

The national dementia strategy serves as the framework for the development of an action plan, supported by funding in the federal budget. The Public Health Agency of Canada will develop the plan in the coming months.

As required by Bill C-233, the Minister of Health presents an annual report on the effectiveness of the strategy to Parliament.

What can you do to support a fully-funded strategy?

In the meantime, it’s important that we keep the national dementia strategy a top issue. If we want to make progress on the objectives laid out by the strategy, more funding is needed (see Do we have enough for a fully-funded strategy?, below).

During the last election, Canadians sent almost 4000 letters to candidates for Members of Parliament (MPs), asking them to commit to a fully-funded strategy. This is an excellent start, and we ask Canadians to keep writing to their MPs. That way, we can ensure that dementia will remain a priority in Ottawa and more funding is given in the 2022 budget.

What is the Alzheimer Society doing to support the national dementia strategy?

The Alzheimer Society of Canada makes a pre-budget submission in advance of the federal budget. The asks in this year’s submission are:

1. That the government heed the urgency of the consequences of the pandemic by fully funding the national dementia strategy with clearly defined implementation milestones and success criteria.
2. That the government meets its aspirational goal in the national dementia strategy to increase overall Canadian investment in dementia research.

Other common questions about the strategy

Will the national dementia strategy replace provincial services and funding?

No. The national dementia strategy doesn’t directly control any aspect of dementia care and won’t replace front-line health care – that remains the jurisdiction of the provinces. What the strategy will do is coordinate resources, scale up best practices and ensure equal levels of care across the country.

The strategy will also support provinces and territories as they build dementia action plans tailored to their own needs. Through a Federal/Provincial/Territorial committee established by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the provinces will play a key role in the development and implementation of the national dementia strategy.

Which provinces currently have a dementia strategy?

Five provinces have strategies or dementia action plans in place, or are in the process of developing their own dementia strategies: Nova Scotia, Quebec (French only), Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

In addition, some provinces and territories, such as New Brunswick, are developing seniors’ strategies that will address dementia as well.

What is the role of the Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia?

One of the requirements of Bill C-233 is the establishment of an advisory board. This board provides evidence-informed advice to the Minister of Health on issues related to dementia care and support.

Members of the board are appointed for three-year renewable terms. The board can have up to 15 members, and current board membership includes representatives from dementia advocacy groups, researchers, healthcare professionals, people with lived experience, caregivers and officials from federal, provincial and territorial governments.

At the time that Canada's national dementia strategy was developed, the board was co-chaired by Pauline Tardif, then CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, and Dr. William Reichman, President & CEO of Baycrest Health Sciences.

Read more about the Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia on the Government of Canada website.

Do we have enough for a fully-funded strategy?

To support implementation of the strategy, the Government of Canada is providing $50 million over five years in accordance with the 2019 budget.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada has requested an investment of $30 million—annually—over a period of five years to implement the national dementia strategy. This recommendation was supported by HEAL, a coalition of over 40 health professional organizations and charities, as well as the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology in a November 2016 report on dementia-friendly communities.

Read these reports:

• HEAL: The Canadian Way 2.0
• Senate of Canada: Dementia in Canada: A National Strategy for Dementia-friendly Communities

Although the 2019, 2020 and 2021 budgets falls short of this recommendation, it’s an important initial investment and a decisive step forward. Once the strategy’s actions show the valuable positive impact it can have on Canadians living with dementia, we believe strongly that the Government of Canada will make further investments.

In advance of the 2022 budget, the Alzheimer Society of Canada calls on the Government of Canada to increase its annual funding to support the implementation of the strategy.

Read our pre-budget submission for the 2022 budget.

How does Canada’s investment in dementia research compare to other countries?

Canada will be spending $46 million on dementia research over the next five years through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). That isn’t enough, especially when compared to the research investments of other G7 countries.

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), an international dementia advocacy organization, 1.0% of the societal cost of dementia should be devoted to funding dementia research. With direct medical costs of dementia care around $10 billion annually, an investment of 1% would translate to a research budget of about $100 million—more than twice the current CIHR investment.

See more of this information in ADI’s World Alzheimer Report 2018.

What other countries currently have national strategies in place?

There are currently national dementia strategies or plans in 31 countries, 26 of which are members of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Alzheimer Society of Canada is a member of ADI, who are encouraging countries to begin the planning process leading to the development of national strategies.

For additional information, see ADI’s report: From Plan to Impact II.

More useful links and resources

A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire. Public Health Agency of Canada, June 2019. This first national dementia strategy focuses on preventing dementia, advancing therapies and finding a cure, as well as improving the quality of life of people living with dementia and caregivers.

A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire: In Brief. Public Health Agency of Canada, August 2019. This is a shorter, executive summary of what Canada's first national dementia strategy aims to accomplish.

"Alzheimer Society welcomes $50 million funding for national dementia strategy: A significant milestone for Canadians living with dementia and their families." Alzheimer Society of Canada, March 2020. Read our statement welcoming the $50 million in funding for Canada's first national dementia strategy.

"Alzheimer Society of Canada CEO named co-chair of Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia." Alzheimer Society of Canada, May 2020. Read our statement announcing the appointment of then-CEO Pauline Tardif as co-chair of the Ministerial Advisory Board, advising the Federal Minister of Health on matters related to the health of Canadians living with dementia.

"Canada's first national dementia strategy: Delivering on a bold vision." Alzheimer Society of Canada, August 2019. Read our written submission for the pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2020 budget, where we recommend that the Government of Canada increases its annual funding of the national dementia strategy from its current investment of $50 million to $150 million, over five years. In English only.

From Plan to Impact II: The urgent need for action. Alzheimer’s Disease International, May 2019. Through case studies and research highlights, this report examines the development, successes and challenges of dementia strategies being implemented around the world.

World Alzheimer Report 2018: The state of the art of dementia research: New frontiers. Alzheimer’s Disease International, September 2018. This report tackles some of the complex questions surrounding dementia research. It looks at the hopes and frustrations and asks why there have been no major medical treatment breakthroughs for over 20 years.

Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. This organization is moving Canada's national cancer strategy forward – learn more about what they do and how they are working toward this goal.

The Canadian Way 2.0.: Accelerating Innovation and Improving Health System Performance, with Focus on Seniors' Care and Mental Health. Organizations for Health Action (HEAL), November 2018. This consensus statement from HEAL evaluates the action taken by the federal government on health care from 2016 to 2018, and offers additional recommendations on seniors’ care and mental health.

Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia. Public Health Agency of Canada. Learn more about the Board that advises the Federal Minster of Health on issues related to dementia, including Canada's national dementia strategy.

National Dementia Conference Report, May 14-15, 2018. Public Health Agency of Canada, May 2018. The summary of the National Dementia Conference in May 2018, outlining the plan to develop Canada’s first national dementia strategy.

Dementia in Canada: A National Strategy for Dementia-friendly Communities. Senate of Canada, November 2016. The Senate of Canada summarizes expert testimony and community consultations, providing a list of 29 recommendations for improving dementia care and support in Canada – including the introduction of a national dementia strategy.