How Diabetes Canada helps

We're here for you

Diabetes Canada works tirelessly to advocate for and support Canadians living with diabetes with helpful resources, education, research, and more.

We're Canada's source for facts about diabetes care, prevention, and finding a cure.

Diabetes care

We work to help Canadians better manage the disease and avoid long-term complications with comprehensive resources, education, and support.

Tools & resources

The Diabetes Canada website is the best online resource hub for Canadians living with diabetes. We provide easy-to-understand information about living and eating well with diabetes, plus interactive tools, educational webinars, recipes, events and much more.

We also offer newsletters and a quarterly magazine called Diabetes Dialogue. 

Clinical Practice Guidelines

For more than 25 years, Diabetes Canada has produced the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada.

Updated every five years, these evidence-based guidelines are the go-to resource for front-line health-care professionals all over Canada, providing them with the most comprehensive information on the best practices to care for people with diabetes.

D-Camps

Since D-Camps began more than 60 years ago, more than 20,000 children have attended our camps for children living with type 1 diabetes. Our campers enjoy an authentic camp experience that combines fun activities, friendship, and education on how to manage their diabetes with help from medical professionals who are on site 24/7.

We provide camp subsidies to help children from lower-income families attend. We also offer family camps, creating an opportunity for family members and caregivers to connect with others who are experiencing similar challenges.

Information & Support Services

Looking for information on diabetes, programs and services, or just in need of some support? Contact us via phone or e-mail, Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 6:00pm (EST).  Our knowledgeable and compassionate information and support specialists are here to help answer any questions or concerns you may have. Last year alone, our specialists helped more than 23,000 Canadians.

Here are what our callers say about us:

“Diabetes Canada’s Information and Support Specialist eased my anxiety, answered my questions, provided me resources and pointed me to the right direction to where I can get more help. They were very helpful and I am so very grateful!”

“Thanks to Diabetes Canada’s Information and Support line, I am now more confident in managing my diabetes. The resources provided to me were invaluable”

“I want to say a huge thank you to Diabetes Canada’s Information and Support team for their compassionate support, especially in my sister’s circumstances – I really do appreciate the extra steps they took to support us”.

Diabetes prevention & advocacy

With the help of our educational resources and support, we fight to prevent diabetes-related complications and to prevent the disease for future generations. Diabetes Canada also plays an active role in influencing Canadian policies and fighting for the rights of people with diabetes.

Government advocacy

Through Diabetes Canada's efforts, people living with diabetes across the country have seen government coverage for their medications and supplies extended beyond childhood. In addition, those who were denied the disability tax credit (DTC) have been able to claim it again, and a new national strategy has been presented to government to end the diabetes epidemic.

The Diabetes 360° strategy was released in 2018. It provides guidelines and recommendations for federal and provincial governments to help address the current diabetes epidemic in Canada and prevent future cases.

Finding a cure through research

From 1975 to the present, Diabetes Canada has provided more than $135 million to fund research that has helped support the work of researchers, such as Dr. Daniel Drucker, who created an oral diabetes medication that is used by many people living with type 2 diabetes and Dr. Pere Santamaria, who is working on a cure for type 1 diabetes.