New report offers an unprecedented look at palliative care access, gaps, and equity across Ontario
Toronto, ON. (June 9, 2025) – A new report from Pallium Canada provides the first-ever comprehensive, data-driven overview of palliative care service availability in Ontario. The Canadian Atlas of Palliative Care: Ontario Edition, developed with support from the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University, consolidates provincial and regional data in a single interactive resource. It offers an unparalleled overview across key domains, such as policy, services, and education — equipping government leaders and health policymakers with critical data to drive equitable access to palliative care.
Palliative care plays an important role in improving the quality of life and reducing avoidable hospital visits for people with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Yet in many parts of Ontario, particularly rural and underserved communities, access and quality of care remain inconsistent. Until now, no single resource has brought together data on service availability in a way that supports system-wide planning and coordination. The Ontario Edition of the Atlas fills that gap and provides the foundation for more equitable and effective palliative care delivery.
“For the first time, we have a comprehensive and actionable overview of palliative care in Ontario,” said Jeffrey Moat, CEO of Pallium Canada. “This Atlas helps us see what’s working, reveals the inequities and gaps that too many patients and families experience, and provides us with the knowledge to change that. If we want to build a health system that truly delivers compassion, dignity, and quality of life at every stage of care, then palliative care must be part of the foundation. With this Atlas, we now have the tools to make that vision a reality for everyone in Ontario.”
Key findings from the Ontario Edition of the Canadian Atlas of Palliative Care include:
- Proportionally significant lack of acute palliative care beds: Ontario has approximately 579 palliative care (PCU) beds, but most function primarily as end-of-life or continuing care beds. Very few support acute symptom management or complex care needs.
- Incomplete data and inconsistent definitions hinder planning: A lack of standardized definitions for PCU beds, combined with discrepancies between publicly available data and actual availability, have made it challenging for regional and provincial planners to allocate resources effectively.
- Equitable access to care remains a significant challenge: Marginalized populations — including pediatric patients, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, homeless and vulnerably housed persons, incarcerated persons, and newcomers to Canada — face significant barriers to care. The province lacks coordinated strategies to address their needs, resulting in inconsistent and often suboptimal care.
- Heavy reliance on specialist palliative care teams in many regions: In several regions, primary-level palliative care is delivered largely by specialist teams, rather than family physicians or primary care clinics. Ongoing gaps in training, workforce, infrastructure, and system support limit the ability of family physicians and primary care clinics to deliver palliative care to their patients, which limits the availability of home-based and after-hours care, particularly in rural areas.
- Strong foundation of provincial frameworks are in place: Ontario has robust strategic guidance through the Ontario Palliative Care Network’s Health Service Delivery Framework and the Ontario Provincial Framework for Palliative Care, both of which support efforts to improve access and quality of palliative care across the province.
The Atlas is part of a larger national effort to map and improve access to palliative care across Canada. Pallium Canada released the British Columbia Edition in March 2025, and development of the Alberta Edition is currently underway.
The Ontario Edition of the Canadian Atlas of Palliative Care was made possible with generous support from the PSI Foundation, Ottawa Community Foundation – Donor Advised Fund, and Canada Gives – Stait Family Fund. Additional in-kind support was provided by Esri Canada.
To access the Ontario Edition of the Canadian Atlas of Palliative Care and learn more, visit pallium.ca/ontarioatlas.
For more information, please contact:
Georgina Dunn
Digital Marketing and Communications Manager
gdunn@pallium.ca
(343) 803-4634
About Pallium Canada
Pallium Canada is a Canadian, registered charitable organization focused on building professional and community capacity to help improve the quality and accessibility of palliative care in Canada. With over twenty-five years of experience and over 70,000 learners reached, Pallium Canada has become the largest palliative care education provider for health systems and health care organizations across Canada, with broad experience and expertise working with partners to implement large-scale regional and provincial capacity-building initiatives.
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