Millions of women in Canada struggle to access basic, evidence-based menopause care. One of the biggest barriers is that many healthcare providers lack the education, training, and confidence to provide support and treatment. This is not a failure of individual providers. Canada’s doctors and nurse practitioners are already overburdened. The problem is systemic: menopause is a universal life stage affecting half the population, yet it remains largely absent from medical education, leaving many providers relying on outdated information. Most menopause care should be delivered through primary care, with only the more complex cases referred to specialists, who currently have long waitlists. Canada must build clinical capacity in menopause care across family medicine, gynecology, and related specialties.
Lack of knowledgeable care providers, long wait times for menopause specialists, and limited individual understanding of menopause all make access to care a challenge – one that isn’t shared equally. Geography and fragmented care pathways create barriers that disproportionately affect women in rural and remote communities. These gaps are even wider for Indigenous women, Black and racialized women, newcomers, gender-diverse individuals, those with disabilities, people precariously housed, and those with lower incomes.[1], [2], [3]
The struggle to access qualified menopause care providers has resulted in the dramatic growth of for-profit menopause solutions. Private clinics are a symptom of the gap, not a substitute for fixing it. Access to safe, evidence-based menopause care should never depend on a person’s ability to pay. It is essential care and should be universally accessible.
[1] Boparai, J (2026), K., Canning, J., Chan, K., & Wijayasinghe, S, https://doi.org/10.46747/cfp.720708446.
[2] Casey, R. (2015). Disability and unmet health care needs in Canada: A longitudinal analysis. Disability and Health Journal, 8(2), 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2014.09.010.
[3] Brotto, L. A., Dobrer, S., Adshade, M., Booth, A., Dewar, K., Gustafson, K., Hsieh, C. L., Prestley, N., Santana Parrilla, J., Smith, L., Weir, S., Yong, P. J., & Ogilvie, G. (2026). A cross-sectional cohort study of menopause-related symptoms in British Columbia. Maturitas, 207, 108874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2026.108874.
The problem extends beyond primary care. Gynecologic surgery is paid less than comparable procedures in other specialties,[2] pushing new graduates away from the very specialty relied on for complex menopause cases.
[1] Palkhivala (2026) https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/lack-menopause-care-canada-reflects-systemic-issues-2026a1000n25.
[2] Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. (2024). Why are Canadian obstetrician and gynaecologists still getting paid less than their male colleagues? https://www.sogc.org/en/content/featured-news/Why-Are-Canadian-Obstetrician-and-Gynaecologists-still-getting-paid-less-than-their-male-colleagues.aspx.
Safe and effective treatments for menopause symptoms exist. The problem is access. Coverage for menopause hormone therapy (MHT), non-hormonal options, and related treatments varies across provinces and territories. This leaves many without affordable or optimal options based solely on where they live or what their private plan, if they have one, covers.
The barriers go beyond coverage gaps. Some of the most effective treatments face regulatory and labelling obstacles. Vaginal estrogen products continue to carry outdated black box warnings that discourage prescribing and use, despite overwhelming evidence of their safety. Testosterone presents a different challenge: though helpful for specific symptoms in some women, Canada has no testosterone product formulated or dosed for women. The only regulated option is a male-dose formulation that women must self-adjust down, which is an imprecise, off-label workaround.
Further, as the range of available menopause treatments has grown, including newer hormonal and non-hormonal options that offer women more choice and better tolerability, public and private coverage has failed to keep pace. Too many women are being prescribed older, less suitable treatments not because they are the best option, but because they are the only one their plan will cover. This leaves cancer survivors and others who can’t use MHT without access to newer, non-hormonal treatments. For those with premature ovarian insufficiency, hormone therapy isn’t optional symptom relief—it’s true replacement that protects long-term cardiovascular, bone, and brain health— yet coverage gaps put that at risk too.
Even when the right treatment is identified, women can wait months to start, renew, or adjust something as routine as vaginal estrogen. Pharmacists, often the most accessible point of care, remain an underused part of the solution.
Women represent more than half of Canada’s population and nearly half the workforce — yet the science underpinning their health during menopause remains chronically underfunded. A peer-reviewed 2025 analysis of 15 years of CIHR funding (2009-2023) found that female-specific research has stayed flat at roughly 7% of all funded grants, with the majority going to cancer research, leaving menopause, cardiovascular health, bone health, and healthy aging with minimal attention.[1]
Even within that narrow pool of funding, priorities are skewed: pregnancy, about 1% of a woman’s lifespan, received more than 30% of the funding (the largest amount), while menopause, spanning nearly 40% of a woman’s life, received less than 3%[2]. This reflects a systemic prioritization of reproductive capacity over the broader health experiences that shape women’s lives.
This research gap has real consequences. Healthcare providers and policymakers lack the data needed to support women through midlife transitions that have long-term impact on heart, bone, and brain health.
Canada is already moving to strengthen its research capacity, including through a $1.7-billion initiative to attract more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers; in its first intake, 48 of 64 senior recruits came from U.S. institutions.[3], [4] This creates a timely opportunity to ensure that women’s health, including the major evidence gaps affecting women in midlife, is a deliberate priority within Canada’s broader research agenda.
Canada should seize this moment to lead in building the evidence base that women, clinicians, and policymakers urgently need.
[1] Gravelsins, L. L., Splinter, T. F. L., Mohammad, A., Blankers, S. A., Desilets, G. L. et Galea, L. A. M. (2025). Women’s health research funding in Canada across 15 years suggests low funding levels with a narrow focus. Biology of Sex Differences. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00763-y
[2] Gravelsins, L. L., Splinter, T. F. L., Mohammad, A., Blankers, S. A., Desilets, G. L. et Galea, L. A. M. (2026). What gets funded shapes what we know: 15 years of Canadian women’s health research. Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S3050-5038(26)00207-4
[3] Government of Canada. (2026, August 27). Government of Canada announces results for Intake 1 of the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada and Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/research-chairs/news/2026/08/government-of-canada-announces-results-for-intake-1-of-the-eddie-goldenberg-research-chairs-of-canada-and-canada-impact-emerging-leaders.html
[4] The Canadian Press. (2026, August 27). Canada recruits dozens of foreign scientists, researchers, poaching many from U.S. CityNews Vancouver. https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/08/27/canada-recruits-dozens-of-foreign-scientists-researchers-poaching-many-from-u-s/
Inroads are being made; more than 240 companies have joined the Menopause Foundation of Canada’s (MFC’s) Menopause Works HereTM campaign, declaring their commitment to supporting employees through this stage of life.
But progress is uneven. Smaller organizations are often left without the resources, tools or guidance to build menopause-inclusive workplaces.
At a time when Canada is focused on productivity and economic growth, the country cannot afford to lose the experience, leadership, and economic contribution of millions of women at the height of their careers and working lives.
[1] Menopause Foundation of Canada. (2023) https://menopausefoundationcanada.ca/menopause-and-work-in-canada-report/.
Ageist attitudes and negative stereotypes about menopause add to stigma. Women in menopause are in the prime of their lives and make significant contributions to society. Thoughtfully changing the narrative on this stage of life isn’t optional. It’s the foundation for the action Canada needs to take now.
[1] Menopause Foundation of Canada. (2022) https://menopausefoundationcanada.ca/menopause-in-canada-report/.
Supporters of the Menopause Policy Agenda for Canada
