Advocacy
Across Canada, everyone deserves equitable access to quality hospice palliative care. CHPCA advocates for policies that make this possible in all communities and care settings for people facing a life-limiting illness and their loved ones.
What Does CHPCA Advocate For?
Accessible and Comprehensive Care: We champion accessible and comprehensive hospice palliative care for every person in Canada facing a life-limiting illness, in the setting of their choosing.
Framework and Action Plan Implementation: We advocate for the full funding and effective implementation of the Framework on Palliative Care (2018) and the Action Plan on Palliative Care (2019) to ensure consistent and high-quality care nationwide.
Adequate Resourcing: To meet the growing demand, CHPCA pushes for adequate resources for hospice palliative care organizations and teams, fostering continued growth and excellence in care provision.
Expanding Grief Support: CHPCA believes in enhancing grief and bereavement support services both within communities and hospice palliative care organizations.
Accessible and Comprehensive Care: We champion accessible and comprehensive hospice palliative care for every person in Canada facing a life-limiting illness, in the setting of their choosing.
Framework and Action Plan Implementation: We advocate for the full funding and effective implementation of the Framework on Palliative Care (2018) and the Action Plan on Palliative Care (2019) to ensure consistent and high-quality care nationwide.
Adequate Resourcing: To meet the growing demand, CHPCA pushes for adequate resources for hospice palliative care organizations and teams, fostering continued growth and excellence in care provision.
Expanding Grief Support: CHPCA believes in enhancing grief and bereavement support services both within communities and hospice palliative care organizations.
How You Can Help
- Raise awareness by sharing knowledge and resources.
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- What is palliative care
- When should I think about palliative care
- Where can I find palliative care
- CHPCA Directory of Services
- PCCCs new Blueprint for Action 2025 – 2030
- Engage with your provincial Hospice Palliative Care Association (see links below)
4. Reach out to your Member of Parliament and ask them to take a stand for better access to hospice palliative care services, including support for families and caregivers.
Encourage them to speak publicly about ending the stigma around palliative care and to support initiatives that bring palliative care education and resources to their riding.
MPs can play a vital role in raising awareness, influencing policy, and creating change.
Why is Action Needed?
Timely access to hospice palliative care improves quality of life for both patients and families—but Canada still falls short. While access has improved since the 2018 federal Action Plan on Palliative Care, major gaps remain, especially in community and hospice settings.
Canada lacks enough hospice beds, faces a shortage of trained healthcare workers, and continues to struggle with stigma and misunderstandings about hospice palliative care.
Nearly 4 in 10 people who died in Canada in 2021-22 did not receive palliative care, and almost half of those who did only receive it within just 22 days of death. This reflects a system that continues to provide support too late for too many.
Caregivers in crisis still face confusion and frustration while trying to navigate the system, including accessing bereavement supports. Furthermore, Canada still lacks the infrastructure to assess the quality-of-care people receive. Advocacy is needed to expand awareness, support, and services in primary care, home care, long-term care, and other community settings, ensuring that no one is left without the care they need.
Palliative Care Coalition of Canada
Our organization is a proud member of the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC), a group of over 30 national organizations dedicated to improving palliative care for everyone in Canada. We believe that, to meet this goal, we need a well-funded, sustainable national strategy for palliative care.
As part of our work with the PCCC, we support their Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the Upcoming Federal Budget.
May 29, 2026 Meeting with MP Michael Cooper
On May 29, CHPCA Interim CEO, Cheryl Spencer and Pallium CEO, Jeff Moat met with Minister of Parliament, Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Sturgeon River, Alberta, constituency) to discuss palliative care funding in Canada.
Advocacy Articles
Palliative Care Everywhere: A Call to Action for Access, Equity, and Continuity in Canada
Advance Care Planning in Canada: A Patchwork of Legal Terms and Practices
Advance Care Planning in Canada: Why Your Wishes Don’t Always Travel with You
Why Canada Needs a Government‑Backed Grief‑Literacy Push
Fifty years of compassionate care: Celebrating hospice palliative care in Canada
Help Shape the Future of Pediatric Palliative Care in Canada
Advocacy Milestones
Advocacy
Breakfast On Parliament Hill in Honour of National Grief & Bereavement Day 2025
On November 19, CHPCA joined the PCCC’s annual Breakfast on the Hill to help raise awareness of the ongoing barriers many Canadians, caregivers, and families face in accessing timely hospice palliative care and the importance of equitable access to quality care.
