Donate to MS Canada
We still have many unanswered questions about MS. Together we can uncover the knowledge we need to create a world free of MS.
Strategic Plan
We work alongside our MS community, leveraging discoveries, innovation, and the strength of collective action to alleviate the uncertainty that MS can bring. We help provide accessible options for disease management, and advocate to remove barriers and improve the well-being of all Canadians living with MS, ultimately bringing us closer to our vision of a world free of MS.
Our Mission
To connect and empower the MS community to create positive change
Our Vision
A world free of MS
Our Values
- Impact-Driven
- Collaborative
- Compassionate
- Bold
- Resilient
Our Impact Goals
Advance Treatment and Care
Having a variety of effective treatment and care options for symptom management, wellness, and self care will help people on their unique MS journey.
Enhance Well-Being
Removing physical and social barriers within communities will ensure access to opportunities and supports for people affected by MS.
Understand and Halt Disease Progression
Understanding the complexities of MS progression will stop MS in its tracks.
Prevent MS
Stopping MS before it starts will reduce the number of people who develop the disease.
Message from the CEO and Chair
Every two hours, someone in Canada is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). That means that every single day, approximately 12 lives change drastically, carrying a new weight of uncertainty. Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, and with that comes a tremendous responsibility to continuously search for answers, treatments, and solutions – a responsibility we do not take lightly. Our four impact goals drive every decision we make. We work to Advance Treatment and Care, Enhance Well-being, Understand and Halt Disease Progression, and Prevent MS.
For nearly eight decades, MS Canada has transformed the lives of Canadians affected by MS. We are driving innovation in research that is changing how the world understands and treats the disease. Today, we know that when it comes to MS, time matters, and the pace of progress has never been greater. In the last decade alone, breakthroughs in understanding how MS works have fundamentally reshaped treatment and care. Clinicians can now rely on biomarkers and advanced imaging to diagnose MS faster and with more accuracy, allowing for earlier treatment and improved long-term outcomes. We are moving closer to a treatment paradigm that is centred on precision medicine, where MS clinicians can tailor their care to each person’s unique disease course.
We are leading the way in MS prevention research, building a global alliance of MS organizations exploring how to detect MS early, stop it before it causes damage, and advance discoveries that can one day lead us to a world free of MS. This groundbreaking collaboration is uniting experts around the world to understand not only how MS develops, but how to stop it from progressing further and before it starts.
The progress we have seen over the past decades is a direct result of our MS community’s unwavering dedication to a world free of MS. This resilient and dynamic community shares lived experience, drives policy change, and builds powerful networks of connection that raise awareness and offer incredible support. Together, we are paving the way toward a brighter future for all people affected by MS.
Dr. Pamela Valentine
President and CEO,
MS Canada
John Clifford
Board Chair, MS Canada
The MS Community in Canada
This year, our MS community continued to show up in powerful and meaningful ways, giving their time, contributing resources, and raising awareness however they could. Together, we turn every action into real momentum that pushes us closer to our shared vision of a world without MS.
You volunteered an equivalent of over 2 years of time to support the MS community.
You dedicated more than 7,729 hours walking, and biked over 297,000 kilometers to end MS.
You brought together 3185 people to challenge MS by turning their hobbies and passions into extraordinary actions.
Through Burgers to Beat MS, 215 staff and volunteers visited 412 A&W restaurants, raising over 1.76 million
Fueling The Next Generation of MS Discoveries
Since 1948, MS Canada has invested over $233 million total in research. In 2025 alone, $9.1 million was added towards our investment in research, bringing our current investment to a total of $34.5 million. But breakthroughs in MS research don’t happen alone. They happen because of the collective efforts of our incredible MS community. Your unwavering support and dedication have allowed us to continue pushing boundaries to advance what we know about MS. In 2025, we funded 65 research projects supporting the ideas of 21 researchers and 44 trainees. Together, we can drive progress that will inspire new discoveries today and into the future.
$6.2 million
Invested in 30 research studies to advance treatment and care
$1.6 million
Invested in 7 research studies to enhance well-being
$24 million
Invested in 59 research studies to understand and halt disease progression
$1.5 million
Invested in 11 research studies to prevent MS
Canadian neurologist and MS Canada funded researcher, Dr. Kristen Krysko, was awarded the 2025 Rachel Horne Prize for Women’s Research in MS. Dr. Krysko’s pioneering research helps inform the care of women living with MS during pregnancy and breastfeeding
QuoteFrom early on in my career, I was captivated by the fact that we have known about this disease for centuries, yet there is so much we still don’t understand about it. I wanted to change that.
QuoteThe experience of working at this summer camp was the reason I wanted to be an occupational therapist as well as a researcher.
Our Impact Goals in Action- Research at a Glance
One thing is clear: our community shows up. Every year, they bring their skills, interests, and drive to every point of connection they engage in, whether it’s participating in an MS Walk or MS Bike event, volunteering their time, or pursuing a career as researchers catalyzing MS discoveries. Together, we enable progress across all four of our impact goals.
Advance Treatment and Care
We’ve reached a pivotal moment in our understanding of MS. Decades of research and treatment advances have revealed that MS exists along a continuum, shaped by complex biological processes that begin early and evolve over time. This shift in our understanding of MS has paved the way to new pathways of discovery, allowing us to improve our ability to diagnose, monitor, and treat MS.
5,091
reclaimed their well-being through our wellness programs
10,090
answered inquiries through our Knowledge Network
183
volunteers and 144 people supported though our Peer 121 program
157
volunteers and 2,818 people supported through our Peer Support groups
QuoteA special thank you to all the volunteers. I am very grateful for their support and their absolute dedication. I know I am stronger physically but also mentally. After each session I feel like I’ve had my battery recharged.
QuoteEvery month, men from across the country join the group and find a space where they can be themselves, feel heard, and connect with others who truly understand what it's like to live with MS.
Enhance Well-Being
Improving Eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit
Our community is passionate about enacting meaningful positive change, and every year we see that work pay off. Together with our MS community, we advocate for policies that remove barriers and improve the well-being of all Canadians affected by MS. We raise awareness, influence policy, build relationships, and mobilize Canadians across the country to get involved. In 2025, we moved the needle in key areas, including equitable access to treatments and reimbursements, inclusive and diverse research, and enhancements to the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) that can strengthen financial security and improve quality of life. Ahead of the federal election in April, we reached out to all parties to ensure Canadians affected by MS were at the forefront of their planning.
1,200
touchpoints about MS awareness month with politicians
80
advocacy meetings with elected officials and government representatives
71
submissions advocating for policy change
16,625
letters sent by the MS community to elected officials
Understand and Halt
Disease Progression
With a better understanding of the biological basis of MS, we now know that compartmentalized inflammation is a main driver of disability progression. Researchers are now building powerful tools ranging from biomarkers to AI-driven analyses to detect this type of disease progression and develop targets for new therapies. At the same time, new findings show the possibility of repairing lost function.
Advancements in Biomarkers and Outcome Measures
This year alone, there have been multiple new biomarker discoveries specifically designed to monitor disease progression and one of its main culprits, Progression Independent of Relapse Activity (PIRA). PIRA has become a central focus in MS research, because it reflects the “silent” worsening of disability that continues even when relapses are under control. By finding ways to measure this often-silent form of progression, neurologists can make more informed treatment decisions to improve care outcomes.
Biomarkers for Progression
Imaging
- PRLs
- Cognition
Blood and CSF
- sNFL
- GFAP for PIRA
- CXCL13:BAFF ratio
Clinical Data
- AI and Machine Learning Models
- Cognition
QuoteIf we can use the ratio as a proxy to tell which patients should be treated with a drug that targets compartmentalized inflammation, that can revolutionize the way we do clinical trials and how we treat patients
Prevent MS
An important aspect of prevention is being able to detect MS at the very earliest stages of disease, before clear symptoms appear. This opens the door to intervening sooner, to stop MS before it fully takes hold. Over the past decades, we have discovered a multitude of risk factors. Now our scientists are hard at work pushing our understanding of how known factors interact, discovering new risk factors, and developing biomarkers that signal increased risk or a possible MS prodrome. This growing knowledge base is opening new possibilities for targeted early interventions that could delay, or even prevent, the onset of MS.
QuoteI think I'm most inspired by people who live with MS and have the time or are willing to talk to us as researchers about their journey with the disease.
QuoteRecent scientific breakthroughs in understanding the disease and successes in preventing other autoimmune conditions now offer new hope that this is no longer an aspirational goal, but a realistic one.
Powering Progress Through Community Connection
Our MS community is determined, passionate, and driven to enact change.
In 2025, nearly half of Canadians newly diagnosed with MS found support through our MS community. Whether they meet at a fundraising event like MS Walk, take part in a program or support group, or simply reach out to the MS Knowledge Network online to learn more about MS. Whichever path leads them to joining our MS community, one thing is for certain: community connection fuels progress.
45%
of newly diagnosed Canadians guided on their journey with MS.
1,682
volunteers ensured our Walk and Bike events ran smoothly
257
volunteers helped deliver essential support programs
$4.8 million
total raised by 86 legacy donors
QuoteNobody having MS ever again—can you imagine? As long as I’m physically able, that’s what all of my passion and fundraising will go toward.
QuoteThank you once again for believing in the importance of MS research and for empowering early-career scientists like me to pursue discoveries that can make a real difference. I am truly honored to have your support.
QuoteMy mother would be amazed to learn of all the new research and treatments available today, many of which were not available when she was alive.
Every Gift Counts!
Over 1.4 million
raised through 113,429 gifts under $20
1.89 million
raised with the support of 9,250 monthly donors
Donate to MS Canada
We still have many unanswered questions about MS. Together we can uncover the knowledge we need to create a world free of MS.
Financials
Of the $42.5 million dollars raised in 2025 and the $840,000 dollars drawn from reserves, $43.4 million dollars were invested in life-changing research, advocating for system change, and mobilizing the community to make impact in support of people living with MS as follows:
$23.7 million dollars (55%)
funded life-saving research, programs and advocacy
$15.3 million dollars (35%)
invested in community fundraising activities
$4.2 million dollars (10%)
towards administration
Community Promo
Community Promo
