The Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC) was founded in 1978 by a steering group composed of researchers, family members and professional staff at the University of Toronto and Surrey Place Centre, an interdisciplinary agency in Toronto providing services to people living with a developmental disability. The association has been a member of ADI since 1984.
ASC is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a federation, it has a national office, 10 provincial organisations and a network of local societies across the country. Its advocacy was key to development of Canada’s first national dementia strategy, launched by the federal government in June 2019.
Some of the services provided by ASC include:
- Counselling
- Caregiver training
- Dementia care training
- Helpline
- Meaningful engagements/activities
- Memory cafés
- Newsletter
- Seminars/Webinars/Workshops
- Support groups
In September 2022, ASC published a report titled “Navigating the Path Forward for Dementia in Canada”; which is the first of three volumes that will make up The Landmark Study. Taken together, these three volumes will represent the most significant update of the Canadian dementia landscape in more than a decade.
The report updates the forecast for the number of people who will be living with dementia in Canada over the next thirty years. By 2050, the last members of the “baby boom” generation will have reached the age of 85, almost tripling the number of people who will be living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. It also looks at the impact of this forecast on care partners, particularly family members who provide care for those living with dementia and who face career and personal challenges to provide these levels of care.
Importantly, the report makes recommendations on steps that all levels of government, as well as individuals, can take to change the current trajectory. A delay in the onset of dementia of even a single year is forecast to reduce the number of Canadians who develop dementia by almost 500,000 by 2050.