History
Since 2007, we’ve collaborated with partners across Canada’s health and cancer community in pursuit of our shared goals: to improve cancer outcomes and reduce the burden of the disease on people in Canada.
2006–2012: Advancing Canada’s first national cancer strategy
In 2006, a volunteer-driven coalition of cancer experts, patients and survivors drafted the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control: A Cancer Plan for Canada. The vision of a coordinated, pan-Canadian approach to cancer control inspired the federal government to create the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
The Partnership began its work in April 2007 with an initial mandate to move Canada’s first cancer strategy into action and assess the potential of this model for improving cancer control in the country.
2012–2017: Pursuing shared priorities
Guiding the Partnership’s work during this phase was its 2012–17 strategic plan, Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision. That plan reflected the common goals of Canada’s health and cancer community to:
- Develop effective, population-based prevention and cancer screening approaches
- Advance high-quality early detection and clinical care
- Embed a person-centred perspective throughout the cancer journey
- Enable targeted research to augment knowledge and understanding of cancer and related chronic diseases
- Advance cancer control with and for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities
Based on the promise shown by the collaborative approach to advancing the Strategy, the federal government granted ongoing funding to the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer in 2016.
2017–2022: Building on progress
The Partnership’s 2017–22 strategic plan, We See Progress, guided its work with a focus on five themes: quality, equity, seamless patient experience, maximizing data impacts and system sustainability.
Launched in 2019, the refreshed Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control provides a focused set of priorities and actions to ensure the Strategy can continue to guide the collective efforts of Canada’s health and cancer community in the years ahead.
The Partnership’s 2022–27 business plan, submitted to Health Canada in 2021, outlines how the organization will continue to advance the priorities and actions of the Strategy and address new and evolving challenges.
2022–2027: Accelerating impact
Building on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Partnership has supported recovery efforts, advanced system sustainability and worked to ensure that progress benefits all people in Canada—especially those facing barriers to care.
Health equity, reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and improved use of data have been central to this work. Through coordinated efforts, the Partnership and partners across Canada have accelerated progress towards key initiatives, including eliminating cervical cancer, implementing lung cancer screening, supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis cancer care priorities, bringing care closer to home, strengthening palliative and survivorship supports, and advancing a pan-Canadian approach to cancer data to support better decision-making and outcomes.
With a continued focus on collaboration, evidence and measurable impact, the Partnership is helping to drive system-wide improvements and deliver on the shared vision of equitable, high-quality cancer care for everyone in Canada.