CANADIAN
STRATEGY FOR
CANCER CONTROL
Doing together what cannot be done alone

Since launching the 2019-2029 Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer has traveled across Canada to engage key partners from every province and territory to develop a plan to implement the priorities in the refreshed Strategy.

Representatives from ministries of health, regional health authorities, Indigenous leadership and cancer agencies and programs participated in the first wave of implementation planning. A second wave will further engage pan-Canadian healthcare organizations, cancer charities, social agencies, professional associations and industry on specific actions.

The Strategy is a 10-year roadmap to improve equity in the cancer system and to deliver world-class cancer care to everyone in Canada, while focusing on a sustainable healthcare system for the future.

Among the Strategy’s eight priorities is a focus on decreasing the risk of people getting cancer, including eliminating cervical cancer. The Partnership is leading Canada’s efforts to create and implement the Action Plan for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Canada, 2020–2030. The action plan will position Canada as a leader in the worldwide movement to eliminate cervical cancer and drive implementation of a key priority of the Strategy.

The Strategy was shaped by the voices of 7,500 Canadians, including healthcare leaders from across the country to strengthen cancer care for all Canadians, families and caregivers affected by the disease.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, governments and organizations were engaged across Canada using a parallel process to ensure separate, respectful and Peoples-specific priorities and challenges were understood and reflected in the refreshed Strategy.

Strategy’s priorities

The Strategy’s five priorities will tackle the most pressing challenges for the next decade:

• Priority 1 - Decrease the risk of people getting cancer.
  
  

  1. Help people to stop smoking or not start in the first place and live healthier lives.
  2. Adopt proven practices known to reduce the risk of cancer.

     Download companion data for Priority 1

• Priority 2 - Diagnose cancer faster, accurately and at an earlier stage.
  
  

  1. Prioritize rapid access to appropriate diagnosis for those suspected of having cancer.
  2. Strengthen existing screening efforts and implement lung-cancer screening programs across the country.

     Download companion data for Priority 2

• Priority 3 - Deliver high-quality care in a sustainable, world-class system.
  
  

  1. Set best practices and standards for care delivery and promote their adoption.
  2. Eliminate low-benefit practices and adopt high-value practices.
  3. Design and implement new models of care.

     Download companion data for Priority 3

• Priority 4 - Eliminate barriers to people getting the care they need.
  
  

  1. Provide better services and care adapted to the specific needs of underserviced groups.
  2. Ensure rural and remote communities have the resources required to better serve their people.
  3. Ensure care can be delivered between provinces, territories and federal jurisdictions when needed.

     Download companion data for Priority 4

• Priority 5 - Deliver information and supports for people living with cancer, families and caregivers.
  
  

  1. Integrate the full spectrum of information and support services to ensure people are fully supported throughout the cancer journey.
  2. Address the limited and unequal access to palliative and end-of-life care across Canada.
  3. Support children, adolescents and young adults at key transition points in their unique cancer journeys.

     Download companion data for Priority 5

First Nations, Inuit and Métis: 3 key cancer-care priorities

Three priorities were identified by First Nations, Inuit and Métis. For each of these priorities, Peoples-specific actions were identified that help drive needed changes in outcomes and experience for all First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Download the companion data for priorities specific to First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

• Priority 1 - Culturally appropriate care closer to home

  First Nations actions

  1. Recognize and reflect the First Nations wholistic approach to health and wellness.
  2. Recognize and eliminate the impacts of racism within the system.
  3. Provide equitable access to basic health supports and cancer services.
  4. Provide more services closer to home and improve the journey for those who must travel to access care.
  5. Improve understanding of cancer and the cancer journey.

  Inuit actions

  1. Provide equitable access to cancer services closer to home.
  2. Improve travel policies.
  3. Incorporate Inuit wholistic approaches to health and wellness in cancer care.
  4. Recognize and eliminate racism within the system.
  5. Improve access to basic health supports.
  6. Improve understanding of cancer and the cancer journey.

  Métis actions

  1. Provide equitable access to resources, programs and care across the cancer continuum.
  2. Create a wholistic system that is responsive to Métis culture.
  3. Recognize and eliminate racism within the system.
  4. Improve access to basic health supports.
  5. Improve understanding of cancer and the cancer journey.

• Priority 2 - Peoples-specific, self-determined cancer care

  First Nations actions

  1. Design and deliver First Nations-determined programs and services.
  2. Reduce jurisdictional barriers.
  3. Improve communication, navigation and coordination across the system.

  Inuit actions

  1. Design and deliver Inuit-driven programs and services.
  2. Improve coordination and navigation of care.

  Métis actions

  1. Design and deliver Métis-determined programs and services.
  2. Reduce jurisdictional barriers and improve communication, navigation and coordination.

• Priority 3 - First Nations-, Inuit- or Métis-governed research and data systems

  First Nations actions

  1. Collect First Nations-specific data and set First Nations-specific indicators and targets.
  2. Invest in First Nations research capacity.
  3. Implement First Nations governance of the collection and use of data and research.

  Inuit actions

  1. Collect and report on Inuit-specific data.
  2. Determine impact of the environmental contamination on Inuit health, specifically cancer risk.

  Métis actions

  1. Collect Métis-specific data and develop Métis-determined indicators and outcomes.
  2. Invest in Métis research capacity.

Downloadable content

Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control
Download the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control

At-a-Glance
Download the overview of the Strategy’s priorities and recommended actions

Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control Companion Data

In fall 2020, we will begin to report on how the Canadian cancer control community is progressing toward meeting the goals of the refreshed Strategy. The Partnership is currently working with partners across the country to develop a new set of indicators that will allow us to measure this progress consistently. The new list of indicators that will be used for regular reporting will be available in spring 2020, and the associated baseline performance results will be available online starting in late winter 2021.

Prior to this data being publicly available, please download the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control Companion Data documents. These documents highlight currently available data and evidence for each of the priority areas. They also identify gaps in evidence and where we need more information.

Download the companion data

Priorities specific to First Nations, Inuit and Métis
Priority 1
Priority 2
Priority 3
Priority 4
Priority 5