January 25, 2024 | Ottawa, ON | Public Health Agency of Canada

The rate of new dementia diagnoses has declined over the past decade when controlling for age, in part due to improvements in chronic disease management and behavioral adoption. healthy. According to the latest national data, there are nearly 477,000 people aged 65 and older living with a diagnosis of dementia in Canada. Although there is currently no cure, adopting healthy behaviors can actually help reduce the risk of dementia and slow the progression of symptoms.

The Government of Canada is committed to improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their caregivers and raising awareness of actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of dementia. Today, the Honorable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced a total of $17.1 million in funding through the Strategic Dementia Fund and the Dementia Investment in communities to raise awareness of dementia, promote healthy behaviors that reduce the risk of dementia , and to improve access to quality dementia guidelines and expand online dementia information resources in the provinces and territories.

As part of the Strategic Dementia Fund, $9.6 million in funding will support 23 new projects across the country to increase awareness of dementia risk, reduce stigma, promote inclusive communities for people with dementia and online resources on dementia in the region to expand provinces and territories. These projects will also improve guidelines for prevention, person-centered care and Indigenous populations.

The Community Dementia Investment will provide $7.5 million in funding to support the launch of nine projects aimed at improving health behaviors associated with dementia risk and protective factors that can help reduce the onset and Prevent or delay progression of symptoms.

This funding is a continuation of the implementation of Canada's national dementia strategy, A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire.