Arthritis Action Plan: Building a national movement for change

In this issue of JointHealth^TM Insight

Challenges people with arthritis face in Canada
Getting arthritis on the national agenda
What it means for patients and health care providers
How to join the movement

Imagine waking up every day with pain in your joints so severe you can barely get out of bed, get yourself to the bathroom or prepare meals. Imagine being 35 years old, in the prime of your life, suddenly sidelined by a diagnosis you thought (because society thinks it) only affected old people. Imagine watching your child struggle to play sports or carry a backpack because of a disease that few people outside your family truly understand.

For over 6 million people living with arthritis in Canada, these images are not imaginary. Without arthritis action now, that number will increase to 9 million people living with arthritis in Canada by 2045. Despite these numbers, arthritis remains misunderstood, underfunded, and underprioritized in Canada’s healthcare and research systems.

But that’s about to change.

In this special edition of JointHealth^TM insight, we look at the work currently underway on the Arthritis Action Plan representing a coming together of the Canadian arthritis community – patient advocates, health care providers, researchers – to create a bold, coordinated roadmap for systemic change.

“The arthritis community is building a national movement to transform arthritis care and ensure people living with arthritis are seen, heard, and supported.”

Cheryl Koehn, arthritis action plan champion and president,
Arthritis consumer experts, and person with rheumatoid arthritis

Why the Arthritis Action Plan matters now

Arthritis affects more people than diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, or dementia combined – yet receives only a fraction of public attention, research funding, or healthcare resources. Half of those affected are under the age of 65. Twenty-five thousand children in Canada live with juvenile arthritis. Arthritis is the leading cause of work disability and its economic costs – an estimated $33 billion per year – weigh heavily on families, workplaces, and the healthcare system alike.

Challenges people with arthritis face in Canada

Scale: Arthritis affects over 6 million people in Canada – more than diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke and dementia combined.
Demographic reality: Arthritis doesn’t discriminate by age – half of all people affected are under 65, with cases increasing among children.
Growing crisis: Without immediate action, arthritis will impact 9 million people in Canada (1 in 4 adults) by 2045.
Economic impact: Arthritis costs Canada $33 billion annually and ranks as a leading cause of work disability.
Funding gap: Despite its massive burden, arthritis research and care remain critically underfunded compared to conditions with similar or lesser impact.
Access challenges: 88% of Canadians feel wait times are too long for arthritis related surgeries and services. Over a third of patients are waiting longer than the benchmark target of six months for joint replacement surgeries.

So why has it been so hard to get arthritis on the national agenda?

Part of the reason is that arthritis is often invisible. People living with arthritis often navigate a world that doesn’t see their pain or understand their limitations. Unlike diseases that come with obvious, acute medical emergencies, arthritis is a slow burn, wearing people down over months, years, decades. There are no urgent-care programs and far too few arthritis specialists, especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.

The Arthritis Action Plan recognizes that the time has come to change that. Led by a coalition of more than 20 of Canada’s leading arthritis organizations – including patient groups, professional associations, and research institutes – the Arthritis Action Plan is a road map to transform how arthritis is understood, treated, and experienced across the country.

“Through unprecedented collaboration among 21 ecosystem champions across the nation’s arthritis community, we are co-creating the Arthritis Action Plan — a catalyst for change. Together, we’re turning vision into action.”

Trish Barbato, Arthritis Action Plan Champion and President
and CEO of Arthritis Society Canada

The Arthritis Action Plan is more than just a strategic document — it’s a movement for change. Canada’s arthritis community is meaningfully coming together to create a coordinated roadmap for better care, access, and outcomes.

The Arthritis Action Plan focuses on three objectives

Awareness and advocacy: Elevating arthritis as a national health priority. This means changing public perceptions, engaging the public, and making sure policymakers understand what’s at stake.
Access to care: Ensuring everyone in Canada can get the timely, equitable arthritis diagnosis, care and treatment they need.
Research and innovation: ensuring that Canada’s world-class arthritis research community has the resources and support it needs to accelerate discoveries that will change lives.

Watch arthritis in action

The arthritis community recently met in Calgary for a planning session to discuss how to harness the full strength of our organizations, increase our collective voice and transform fragmented efforts into a powerful, coordinated movement. Click below to view the highlights of the meeting.

What it means for patients and health care providers

For people like Sarah, a 34-year-old mother of two and an ACE member, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis five years ago, the Arthritis Action Plan offers hope that the next decade will look very different from the last. Sarah has waited too long for specialist appointments, struggled to access advanced therapies, and felt invisible in conversations about chronic disease policy. She is not alone. For people like Anika, a 27-year-old ACE member living with lupus, the Arthritis Action Plan offers something she’s never had before: hope that she won’t have to wait months for care or explain to employers why her disease affects her ability to work.

The Arthritis Action Plan promises people with arthritis a future where:

Wait times for surgeries and treatments are dramatically reduced.
Public and private drug plans include the full range of advanced arthritis medications.
Healthcare teams work in integrated, team-based models to support arthritis patients holistically.
New virtual care and triage systems bring specialists into rural and remote communities.
Research funding is aligned with the true burden of arthritis, accelerating breakthroughs that matter.

For the health care providers who care for people with arthritis, the Arthritis Action Plan promises clearer pathways, better resources, and a stronger system that recognizes arthritis as a critical part of chronic disease management. For policymakers, it offers a coordinated, evidence-based set of recommendations that align with broader healthcare goals like reducing wait times, improving equity, and delivering better value for health dollars.

The countdown is on: Building momentum before the launch

The Arthritis Action Plan is scheduled for launch in 2026. But we’re not waiting until then to start making an impact.

Over the next 12 months, the arthritis community will be working across the country to raise awareness, engage decision-makers, and mobilize the public.

Why your voice matters: Join the movement

The Arthritis Action Plan is not just for policymakers. Over the coming months, the Arthritis Action Plan team will be asking people in Canada to share their stories, sign petitions, attend community events, amplify campaigns on social media, and help shape the solutions we need. Whether you are a patient, caregiver, health care provider, your voice matters.

“The Arthritis Action Plan will only succeed if it is co-created – not handed down. We are working to ensure our approach reflects the diverse needs of all arthritis community members and presents solutions that resonate with real experiences across age groups, backgrounds, and circumstances.”

Kelly Lendvoy, Co-Chair Arthritis Action Plan Advocacy and
Awareness and ACE’s Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs

The Arthritis Action Plan represents the mother waiting for a faster access for her child’s arthritis diagnosis. It’s for the rheumatologist trying to navigate complex reimbursement access for their patient. It’s for the employer wondering how to support an employee struggling with joint pain.

The Arthritis Action Plan will succeed because people like you get involved.

Over the next year, we invite you to:

Share your arthritis story.
Participate in community consultations and campaigns.
Use your voice on social media to amplify key messages.
Join advocacy efforts that push governments to act now.

Learn more about the Arthritis Action Plan

To follow the progress of the Arthritis Action Plan and get involved, click here or contact us at feedback@jointhealth.org.

Listening to you

We hope you find this information of use. Please tell us what you think by writing to us or emailing us at feedback@jointhealth.org. Through your ongoing and active participation, ACE can make its work more relevant to all Canadians living with arthritis.

Update your email or postal address

Please let us know of any changes by contacting ACE at feedback@jointhealth.org. This will ensure that you continue to receive your free email or print copy of JointHealth™ insight.

Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE)

Who We Are

Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) and its team members acknowledge that they gather and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples -ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) operates as a non-profit and provides free research based education and information to Canadians with arthritis. We help (em)power people living with all forms of arthritis to take control of their disease and to take action in healthcare and research decision making. ACE activities are guided by its members and led by people with arthritis, scientific and medical experts on the ACE Advisory Board. To learn more about ACE, visit www.jointhealth.org

Disclosures

Over the past 12 months, ACE received financial and in-kind support from: Amgen Canada, Arthritis Research Canada, Arthritis Society Canada, Biogen Canada, Canadian Biosimilars Forum, Canadian Rheumatology Association, Celltrion Healthcare Canada, JAMP Pharma, Novartis Canada, Organon Canada, Pfizer Canada, Sandoz Canada, UCB Canada, and the University of British Columbia.

ACE also received unsolicited donations from its community members (people with arthritis) across Canada.

ACE thanks funders for their support to help the nearly 6 million Canadians living with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and the many other forms of the disease.

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