Dementia-Ready Ontario

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the fastest-growing health crises in Canada. Yet too many people living with dementia face unnecessary barriers to timely diagnosis, treatment, and care. Long wait lists, limited access to diagnostic tools, and a lack of supports for health care providers mean that individuals and families are often left struggling for answers and resources.

As new disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for Alzheimer’s and related dementias emerge globally, the slow pace of health system readiness, including delays in Canadian approvals, mean that only a fraction of patients will benefit. These are not isolated challenges, but signs of systemic shortcomings that demand urgent action.   

In response, the Alzheimer Society of Ontario has launched the Dementia-Ready Ontario campaign. This integrated communication and advocacy initiative is designed to raise awareness, amplify the voices of those impacted, and push for reforms that ensure equitable, timely, and compassionate dementia care across the province.   

Together, we can build a Dementia-Ready Ontario—one that is prepared to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges with the dignity and care every Ontarian deserves.   

Dementia Clinical Consultation

In April 2025, Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario (PGLO), the Alzheimer Society of Ontario (ASO), and the Behavioural Supports Ontario Provincial Coordinating Office (BSO PCO) convened a province-wide consultation with 131 clinical experts and partners to define the core clinical activities essential to high-quality dementia care in Ontario. This work supports the development of the Ontario Ministry of Health's Provincial Framework for Dementia Care, as outlined in the Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act, 2024, which received Royal Assent in December 2024.

To read the full report, please click here.

Closing the Gap: Strategies to Ready Canada’s Health System for Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments

In July 2025, the Alzheimer Society of Ontario hosted a roundtable with system planners, clinicians, and people with lived experience of dementia during the Alzheimer Association International Conference in Toronto that focused on advancing system readiness for Alzheimer’s disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in Canada.

To read the final report, please click here.