Support Networks and Knowledge Sharing

We seek to build and nurture local, regional and national networks, building bridges across aging, disability, and illness communities to share knowledge and work together to improve the caregiving landscape in Canada.

For Caregivers

Working Caregivers Project

Sixty-two percent of caregivers in Canada balance paid employment with caregiving responsibilities for a family member, friend or neighbour. These 6.1 million working caregivers, representing 35% of the workforce, are often invisible in the workplace and manage their responsibilities without adequate support or recognition. Our research shows that over 60% of companies don’t track the number of working caregivers in their workforce or know how to identify them, yet workplaces that embrace and support caregivers see measurable benefits: increased employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity.

Many caregivers in prime working years cannot participate in the economy to their full potential, causing our economic growth to slow considerably. As Canadians take on more care responsibilities, we are seeing all age groups and sectors fall behind in productivity, long-term workforce participation and financial stability.

Since 2023, CCCE has emerged as a national convener and knowledge leader on the realities facing caregivers who are balancing paid work and caregiving responsibilities. We’ve brought together employers, HR leaders, researchers, provincial caregiver organizations, people with lived experience and policy makers to share evidence, highlight leading practices and practical workplace solutions. This work is directly aligned with CCCE’s National Caregiving Strategy for Canada, which outlines practical policy solutions to address improved labour-force participation and financial security, and expanded workplace programs (benefits and total rewards) that better support employees with caregiving responsibilities.

Our 2024 Roundtable Report features examples of excellence and leading practices from organizations already making a difference as well as key insights, actionable strategies and online resources to help other organizations take the next step. Topics include:

• Organizational Structure and Making the Business Case 
• Workplace Culture and Caregiver-Friendly Policies
• Creating Winning Conditions
• Challenges in Supporting Working Caregivers
• Employee Offerings and Program Considerations

As workplace wellness policies become increasingly popular and as caregiving becomes a reality for more employees, awareness is building and caregiver support is emerging as an important measure of workplace excellence. We are excited to continue to help Canadian employers prepare for the future of work and caregiving by greatly expanding our reach with new Canada-wide partnerships and in-depth regional conversations, and by translating insights and findings into actions that can drive broader change.

Together, we can strengthen Canada’s economic resilience and create a more supportive environment for Canada’s working caregivers, ensuring they have the resources and recognition they need to thrive both at work and at home.

Contact info@canadiancaregiving.org to speak with a member of our team about how we can support your organization.

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed on progress of this work, including opportunities to get involved.

A Social Prescription for Care

Following the success of our two-year initiative, we are continuing to invest in social prescribing for caregivers, led by Family Caregivers of British Columbia, the Ontario Caregiver Organization and Caregivers Nova Scotia. Building on the strong foundation established in the first phase, the three provincial organizations will continue to expand their impact for caregivers across the country. 

Between 2026 and 2029, the participating organizations will: 

1. Expand the capacity and geographic reach of their social prescription pilot projects 

2. Expand the social prescription for care community of practice – with partners across the country 

3. Extend the learnings and resources from Phase 1 to more partner organizations.  

4. Convene all social prescribing grantees, community partners, pilot sites, experts and CCCE representatives annually. 

Research into the impacts of social prescribing have demonstrated success in decreasing loneliness, enhancing a sense of connectedness and improving mental health. Outcomes also include a reduction in visits to healthcare teams and advance health equity by reducing barriers between health and social community care to support people’s immediate social needs  

A report outlining the success of Phase 1 of the initiative will be available in April 2026.  

Transforming Caregiver Support with Trillium Health Partners

With the support of the Azrieli Foundation and CCCE, Trillium Health Partners’ (THP) Institute for Better Health is undergoing a four-year program to better integrate caregivers into healthcare teams. Recognizing the vital role caregivers play, the study seeks to explore ways to better identify, support and integrate caregivers into health and social care teams, ensuring they receive the recognition and support they deserve.

The initiative supports research and development in several critical areas, including:

• Development of resources such as programs, tools and best practices to identify, support and include caregivers in care teams.

• Creation of a co-designed tool that enhances caregiver identification, support and inclusion in care teams.

• Innovative methods for evidence-gathering using arts-based methodologies such as caregiver digital stories, photovoice albums and a digital documentary.

• Testing and evaluation of new tools or interventions in two to three health care settings in Peel Region to see how well it works and how it can be expanded.

Trillium Health Partners serves 2.2 million people a year, in one of the country’s most diverse regions. The hospital encompasses three main sites – Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga Hospital, and Queensway Health Centre – offering the full range of acute care hospital services,​ as well as a variety of community-based, specialized programs.

Ontario Health Teams, the Ontario Caregiver Organization, the International Foundation for Integrated Care, Healthcare Excellence Canada, Family Child Health Initiatives and Health System Performance Network have partnered for this initiative to support refinement and scalability across Canada.

Supporting Young Caregivers in Schools

To strengthen support for young caregivers in Quebec and across Canada, we are supporting the second year of AMI-Quebec’s initiative to better identify and support young caregivers within their schools. The initiative will increase awareness of the experiences of young caregivers in schools and strengthen connections to community services, while testing a scalable Care Champion model that can be expanded to other school communities.

The project will:

• Place Care Champions in two schools to identify young caregivers and coordinate school-based support.
• Deliver direct services, including counselling, outreach, and referrals for young caregivers.
• Provide training, workshops, and resources to school staff to build awareness and understanding of young caregiver experiences.
• Strengthen connections between schools, families, and community organizations to improve coordinated support.
• Explore recreational and engagement opportunities that promote well-being, resilience, and social connection among young caregivers.

Young caregivers are a vulnerable and unrecognized population in Canada. A young caregiver is someone aged 5-25 who is affected by or cares for a loved one who has a chronic illness, disability, mental health or substance use issue and/or problems related to old age or language barriers. AMI-Quebec is a non-profit organization that helps families manage the effects of mental illness through support, education, guidance, and advocacy

Support for Cancer’s Caregivers 

For individuals and families living with cancer, the emotional and practical demands of cancer can touch every part of daily life. Caregivers are often navigating appointments, providing practical and emotional support, and balancing care with the rest of their lives. They need support, too. Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation (Wellspring) is a Canadian charitable organization offering free, non-clinical supportive care to individuals and families living with cancer. With rising demand for caregiver programming, CCCE is proud to support Wellspring in expanding their capacity to support caregivers across the country, including 80 caregiver-focused sessions through:  

• Support groups and therapeutic programs  

• Educational workshops and financial counselling 

• Mindfulness and symptom management tools 

• Exercise and movement like Tai Chi and yoga 

Pathways to Better Mental Health Outcomes: Caregiver Initiative

Many caregivers of people living with complex mental health challenges struggle to navigate a fragmented mental health system and find the information, services, and support they need.

We are proud to support the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health’s (IAM) Pathways to Better Mental Health Outcomes initiative. IAM will work directly with caregivers to better understand their experiences navigating mental health care, identify persistent barriers and help shape meaningful recommendations for systemic improvement.

With our support, IAM will:

• Engage caregivers through focus groups, community meetings and surveys to identify challenges in accessing and navigating mental health care;
• Develop Caregiver Journey Maps and a Caregiver Experience Framework rooted in lived experience; and
• Produce an accessible insights report and program recommendations to help make mental health systems more caregiver friendly.

This work will help advance a more coordinated, accessible and caregiver-friendly mental health system.

IAM is a Canadian charity with more than 50 years of experience supporting people and families affected by serious and complex mental health challenges, including psychosis, schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder. Their work connects people to care and support while advancing advocacy for stronger mental health systems.

Courage to Care: Ripples of Love in Action 

Half of Canadians are expected to give care in their lifetime, and within each journey is a powerful story of love, grief and connection that has the power to uplift and encourage the next generation of caregivers.  

To help tell some of these stories, we are proud to support Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) in the creation of Courage to Care: Ripples of Love in Action, a collection of 160 stories, poems, reflections and art about the everyday care that holds families and communities together, and Connecting for Caring, a national community-engagement event series that brings the book’s stories, values, and contributors into communities across the country. 

Through personal stories and lived experiences, Courage to Care reflects the many ways people show up for one another. It creates space for caregivers to see their own experiences reflected, celebrate the relationships that sustain care and connect with others who understand the realities of caregiving. 

Building on the book, Connecting for Caring will bring caregivers, families, community members and partners together through storytelling and conversations. A series of anchor gatherings will take place in Charlottetown, Calgary, Ottawa, Victoria, and Toronto, creating welcoming spaces to share experiences, strengthen relationships and deepen conversations about care in our communities. 

PLAN is a national leader in strengthening belonging, relationships and caring networks for people with disabilities, families and communities. For more than 30 years, PLAN has worked alongside families and communities to build enduring networks of care. 

Young Sibling Peer Support Network

An estimated 1.2 million young sibling caregivers in Canada (under the age of 18) assist their brothers and sisters with disabilities or illness, often from a very young age. While support for sibling caregivers is expanding, significant gaps remain.

To address these needs, we are proudly supporting the creation of the Young Sibling Support Network led by B.C. Children’s & Women’s Hospital. This new initiative, rooted in their existing Sibling Support Network, will grow the network’s capacity to support young siblings in their communities.

A new partnership of six community organizations in British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon will offer peer support groups, programs, and events for an estimated 720 young siblings and their families. The partner organizations include:

• B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres
• Family Support Institute of B.C.
• Emily’s Backyard (Alberta Children’s Hospital)
• Autism Yukon
• Lynx Health’s Yukon Child and Youth Clinic
• The Yukon Child Development Centre

These partners will collaborate to share resources, best practices, and strategies for supporting young sibling caregivers, addressing their unique challenges, such as loneliness and stress. Throughout the four-year initiative, ongoing research will measure the program’s effectiveness.

Past Initiatives

Supporting Caregivers Through Strategic Partnerships

The Supporting Caregivers Through Strategic Partnerships is an initiative by Caregivers Alberta to grow partnerships with Alberta-based organizations and workplaces in public and private sectors to support two emerging programs: Work & Care and Caregiver Centered Care.

Work & Care was developed in response to the needs of caregivers returning to the workplace post-pandemic.

Caregiver Centered Care is a program of applied research and innovation in health services delivery in family caregiving, created by the University of Alberta.

Through the course of the initiative, Caregivers Alberta was successful in raising awareness of the impacts of caregivers who juggle work and care, as well as strengthening the recognition of caregivers in healthcare settings across the province.

Understanding the Care Landscape in New Brunswick

With an increasingly older population and no formal systems of support, New Brunswick’s caregivers need programs and services more urgently than ever.

With our support, Silvermark conducted a needs assessment for regional support across New Brunswick to better understand the experiences of caregivers and existing support networks across the province.

Through this project, Silvermark identified provincial partners across the aging, disability and illness sectors that provide support to caregivers, and identify gaps, established policy priorities to better support caregivers and caregiver support networks in the province and facilitated a plan to establish a formal network of caregiver support for caregivers in New Brunswick.

Following this exercise, Silvermark CEO, Aime Foreman, founded Caregivers New Brunswick, the first provincial level organization for caregivers in the province.

Developing a Provincial Caregiving Strategy in Saskatchewan

As a leading organization on aging well and care related issues in Saskatchewan, the Saskatoon Council on Aging (SCOA) provides services to older adults, their families, and advocates for healthy aging and well-being for older persons and their caregivers. With our support, SCOA led an ambitious initiative to centralize caregiving resources and create a province-wide caregiving strategy.

Outcomes of this support led to the development of:
• Saskatchewan Provincial Caregiver Strategy
• Caregivers in the Workplace Support Handbook

In addition to the development of resources and policy recommendations, SCOA also increased volunteer support through the expansion of the Nav-CARE program.