OTTAWA, ON, June 24, 2026 /CNW/ - Menopause care should be free in Canada and all women, no matter where they live, should have access to menopause treatment from all front-line health practitioners – not only from specialists.
A growing number of women across the country are being turned away when seeking treatment of menopause symptoms and other routine women's health conditions with no explanation or help. In response, Canada is seeing a concerning proliferation of private, for-profit clinics and virtual platforms offering to fill that void.
Abandoned by Canada's so-called universal health care system, many Canadian women are turning to private care options at great financial cost.
During a keynote address at the Annual Clinical and Scientific Conference of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) in Ottawa last week, renowned international OB/GYN and women's health expert Dr. Jen Gunter called this emerging situation in Canada a "disgrace".
It is creating a two-tiered health system in Canada in which women are forced to pay for basic health care that should be available under Canada's Medicare system, Dr. Gunter said.
"What's next? Should women have to pay for their mammograms? Should they have to pay for their pregnancies too?" she told hundreds of women's health clinicians at the SOGC conference.
"If we start pushing one aspect of women's care outside of the health care system, that just means we're going to start pushing out others. It's the thin edge of the wedge."
While the growth of private menopause care in Canada is not currently being tracked, a 2024 B.C. study of 2,100 women aged 39-60 found 43.5 per cent had turned to at least one extended health care provider to manage menopause symptoms, almost all of which are not covered by Canadian Medicare.
The time has come for menopause care to become a priority at all levels of the health care system in Canada.
The SOGC is calling for all front-line care providers to be trained to deliver menopause care, including family physicians, general practitioners, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and emergency care providers.
Adding these additional health practitioners to the existing roster of OB/GYNs and women's health specialists who provide this care would go a long way in addressing the current crisis in access to women's health care in Canada.
It's time for Canada to adhere to the principles of the Canada Health Act and stop forcing women to pay for their basic health needs. It's time for Canada to prioritize and fund additional training for front-line health providers to treat women living with pain and other life-altering symptoms of menopause.
"Women make up half of Canada's population and 100 per cent of women will experience menopause in later years, yet these women are being utterly ignored by our health care system. No woman should have to pay for basic health services. Canada must act to make menopause care more widely accessible at the front-line level." - Dr. Nicholas Leyland, President, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
SOURCE The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
Media Inquiries: Teresa Wright, Communications and Public Affairs Specialist, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, [email protected]
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