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Diabetes: What Canada’s doing

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Framework for Diabetes in Canada

The Framework for Diabetes in Canada was completed on October 5, 2022, in response to the National Framework for Diabetes Act.

The framework aims to bring people and organizations together to ensure better health for people living with diabetes in Canada.

Summary of framework

The framework identifies several principles. These guide how we support those living with diabetes and improve health outcomes. The principles emphasize the importance of:

  1. addressing health equity, which means ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities to be healthy
  2. applying a person-centred approach by respecting individual experiences and considering each person’s well-being
  3. outlining the differences between types of diabetes
  4. supporting innovation, such as exploring new research leading to better diabetes management, treatment options and quality of life
  5. promoting leadership, collaboration and information exchange across organizations to develop ways to reduce the risk of diabetes

The framework also includes 6 components. These represent areas for opportunities to advance efforts on diabetes:

  1. research
  2. prevention
  3. monitoring and data collection
  4. learning and knowledge sharing
  5. management, treatment and care
  6. access to diabetes devices, medicines and financial supports

What we heard

The principles and components in the framework are shaped by what we heard from people in Canada. We engaged many different people and groups from diverse sectors to:

Engagement activities included:

We also considered existing strategies and frameworks addressing diabetes and chronic diseases in Canada and abroad as we developed the framework.

Development of the framework also included guidance from:

We included Indigenous Peoples and organizations in the engagement process to inform the framework. As a result, the National Indigenous Diabetes Association is undertaking a national Indigenous-led engagement process with Indigenous Peoples, communities and organizations to:

This approach aims to capture the unique interests, circumstances and perspectives of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. It also supports reconciliation and their right to self-determination.

We developed a framework infographic based on what we heard to summarize our findings.

Framework for Diabetes in Canada (infographic)

Scan of initiatives: 2023 to 2024

We engaged with organizations across Canada about what they consider important for addressing diabetes. We reached out for insight from 2023 to 2024 to follow up on actions already underway. A total of 72 initiatives were identified from those engaged:

We asked about the 6 interconnected components in the framework. The following percentages represent the proportion of initiatives by component.

We also asked about the 5 principles from the framework. These principles were covered by initiatives as follows: 

Populations represented in the diabetes initiatives

The following graph shows the diverse populations that were represented by the identified initiatives, including groups known to face higher rates of diabetes. Several initiatives contributed to advancing health equity by addressing one or more priority populations. 

Priority population groups represented in diabetes initiatives
Figure 1. Text version below.
Text description
Priority populations Percentage of initiatives
Indigenous Peoples 31%
People living on low incomes 17%
Racialized communities 11%
Children and youth 11%
Rural and remote communities 10%
Newcomers to Canada 6%
People with disabilities 3%
Older adults 1%

Key findings 

Of the multiple actions on diabetes being taken across Canada: 

Efforts are also underway in support of Indigenous Peoples and communities which include:

There are ongoing efforts to capture the unique interests and perspectives of Indigenous peoples and communities in Canada. 

Opportunity areas

Our engagement identified 3 overarching gaps to address diabetes in Canada, which are:

  1. addressing the social and structural determinants of health
    • focusing on changing the rules, laws and systems that shape the conditions that affect how healthy we can be
  2. multi-sectoral actions and engagement with the private sector
    • gathering support and ideas across organizations to effectively address diabetes prevention, management and treatment
  3. advancing innovation and sharing of new technologies
    • exploring new research, leading to better diabetes management, treatment options and quality of life

Limitations 

Data from our engagement aren’t representative of all initiatives taking place across Canada. They provide insights into some of the initiatives that stakeholders have chosen to profile.

We recognize that diabetes is a complex disease. There’s still work to do to ensure better health outcomes for people living with diabetes in Canada.

We invite all interested organizations to use the framework to address diabetes and advance opportunities in ways that:

Diabetes funding

In 2021, the Government of Canada committed $25 million over 5 years for:

We’re using $15 million to renew the Partnership to Defeat Diabetes between the Canadian Institute of Health Research and Breakthrough T1D (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). The foundation and its donors are providing an additional investment of $15 million to jointly fund a total of $30 million in type 1 diabetes research.

We've also invested an additional $10 million over 5 years for a Diabetes Prevention Challenge, which will help to:

Type 2 diabetes challenge (Impact Canada)

We invest about $20 million each year through the Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund. This goes towards improving healthy living behaviours among people living in Canada by encouraging:

The fund promotes these behaviours among populations at greater risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Funded projects focus on:

Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund

We recognize that partners from different areas must work together to improve health and the conditions that shape it. This includes making sure everyone has the opportunity to be in good physical and mental health. The Intersectoral Action Fund supports communities by funding projects that:

Intersectoral Action Fund

Other diabetes activities

It’s important to help people in Canada reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including diabetes. That's why we're committed to working with partners to:

Related links

Printable documents about the framework

Legal, policy and engagement documents

Data and research

International collaboration

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