Canada to become 30th country with national dementia strategy

The Alzheimer Society of Canada celebrates the passage of Bill C-233, An Act respecting a national strategy for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Canada will now become the latest country to develop a national dementia strategy to address the overwhelming scale, impact and cost of dementia.

“For the more than half a million Canadians living with dementia and their families, this is an important milestone,” says Pauline Tardif, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. “A national strategy enables a coordinated approach to tackling dementia in Canada that will impact the lives of those affected in tangible ways.”

Bill C-233’s co-sponsors, the Honourable Rob Nicholson, MP Niagara Falls, and Rob Oliphant, MP Don Valley West, are to be commended for their leadership and support, as is the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology. They have been dedicated champions of the Bill on behalf of Canadians living with dementia, their families, and caregivers.

The Alzheimer Society has long called for a national dementia strategy to enhance research efforts and ensure access to quality care and support so that Canadians with dementia can have the best quality of life. Now that Canada has committed to such a strategy, work begins on implementation.

The Society and its federation partners look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with government, stakeholders and, above all, people living with dementia, to create and implement Canada’s first national dementia strategy.