Our Story
The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) was formally established as a national charitable organization in November 1991 and opened the first office in Ottawa in February 1994. The association’s first newsletter “AVISO” was published in both official languages in June, 1992. In Spanish, “AVISO” means “advice” or “intelligence”. In Latin “AVIS” means “bird”. Both meanings relate nicely to the official logo of the association.
Today, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association is the national voice for hospice palliative care in Canada. It is a national charitable non-profit association whose mission is to provide leadership in hospice palliative care in Canada. We strive to achieve this mission by supporting research, promoting education and training, improving public awareness of hospice palliative care, and by advocating for increased programs and services. CHPCA works in close partnership with other national organizations and will continue to move forward with the goal of ensuring that all Canadians, regardless of where they may live, have equal access to quality hospice palliative care for themselves and their family.
About the Official CHPCA Logo

The official logo of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association is composed of three elements: a curved line and a wing evoke the previous logo of the Canadian Palliative Care Association (CPCA) and the caduceus from which it stems, while bringing freshness, modernity, lightness and movement. The base symbolizes the help and support that the CHPCA wishes to bring to the hospice palliative care community in Canada. The colours, blue for the first two elements and red for the base, were chosen to ensure continuity with the previous colours of the CPCA logo but were modified to provide greater softness and warmth. The whole, which respects the spirit of the previous CPCA logo, is pleasing to the eye and is easily identified as the CHPCA. The official logo of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association was previously used by the Palliative Care Foundation of Canada (PCFC).