The Rising Challenge of Dementia in Canada

Sign up to receive Hope for Dementia’s newsletter

The Growing Impact of Dementia

Nobody likes to hear a bad weather report. Yet, the increase in dementia cases has been compared to a looming tsunami. By 2030, nearly 1 million people in Canada are expected to be affected, which is almost four years from today.

Challenges to Care and Costs

The complexity of caring for individuals living with dementia creates significant challenges for the economy, the healthcare system, and informal caregivers.

In 2020, the estimated cost of dementia care in Canada was $12 billion. This figure is projected to rise to $16.6 billion by 2031.
Out-of-pocket expenses for caregivers reached $1.4 billion in 2016, with forecasts suggesting these costs will grow to $2.4 billion by 2031.
Nearly twice as many caregivers for seniors with dementia experience symptoms of distress—such as anger, depression, or feeling unable to continue—compared to those caring for seniors with other health issues (45% versus 26%).

In 2018, Canadian employers incurred approximately $1.3 billion in annual costs related to lost productivity, absenteeism, and turnover resulting from caregiving responsibilities.

A Call to Action for Sustainable Care

There is an urgent need to curb these rising trends and achieve sustainable care and cost.

Hope for Dementia believes that the increasing number of dementia diagnoses can be reduced if prevention becomes a healthcare priority if the incidence of new diagnoses is reduced.

Hope for Dementia’s Preventive Approach

Hope for Dementia offers seven programs grounded in 14 risk factors identified by researchers. By taking steps to modify or eliminate these risk factors, it is estimated that 45% of new dementia diagnoses could potentially be prevented or delayed.

How You Can Reduce Your Risk of Dementia

To reduce your risk, begin by identifying which risk factors apply to you:

Physical & Environmental: Lack of physical activity, head injury, air pollution, hearing impairment, vision loss
Social & Emotional: Infrequent social contact, smoking, lack of mental stimulation, depression
Nutrition: Excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol

Take action today to lower your risk: