Vision Health Canada’s 2026 Conference Series
One Voice. Clear Focus. Collective Action.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month Conference: A Clinical Update
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Toronto Public Reference Library, Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto, Ontario
10:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for a continental breakfast.)
Theme: Shaping the Future of Eye Care in Canada
Morning Session:
An update on the progress of Bill C-284 from legislation to a national vision care strategy. The Act to establish a national strategy for eye care is based on the principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us,” and highlights the important role of uniting patient and stakeholder organizations, clinicians, innovators, vision rehabilitation groups, and policymakers.
February is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month, and we will begin with a comprehensive and optimistic exploration of the most common cause of vision loss in those aged 50 and older. We will examine the AMD landscape from discovery to daily living. This session is designed for everyone: 1) patients and caregivers seeking the latest information to advocate for their own care, 2) clinicians eager to incorporate advanced diagnostics and treatments, and 3) industry leaders seeking to align innovation with urgent unmet needs. We will start with a clinical update that goes beyond the basics, examining the real-world impact of emerging treatments — for example for geographic atrophy and Stargardt disease — as well as exciting advancements in biosimilar agents, long-acting therapies, and gene therapies for wet AMD.
However, treatment is only one piece of the puzzle. We will aim to bridge the gap between the clinic and the home, with a practical guide to living well with AMD. This segment will showcase the latest assistive technologies, from AI-powered smartphone apps to advanced wearable devices, and will include powerful examples of adaptation and resilience. This holistic approach ensures we are not just talking about saving sight, but about maintaining lives of independence and dignity.
Afternoon Session:
After lunch, we will focus on translating the findings from Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada’s recent survey, a profile of people who are blind, DeafBlind, or partially-sighted in Canada in 2025, into an evidence-based action plan. The aim is to look at all aspects of living with blindness or partial sight to enhance the delivery of vision rehabilitation and to remove barriers to independence for people living with vision loss.
The day will conclude with a comprehensive overview providing key updates on our innovative Ontario Population-Based Eye Disease Prevalence Study. This exclusive, detailed briefing, hosted by the study’s Principal Investigator, will discuss the study’s progress, methods, and potential implications. The study isn’t just about updating statistics; it’s about understanding the changing landscape of vision health in Canada — who is affected, where care gaps are widest, and how social and economic costs are impacted.
Vision Month Conference 2026: Innovation & Inclusion
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Christ Church Cathedral, Great Hall, Ottawa, Ontario
10:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for a continental breakfast.)
Theme: The Future Is Now: Bridging Technology and Equity in Eye Care
Morning Session:
This session will stand at a critical crossroads: leveraging revolutionary technology while addressing persistent social inequities in vision health. We will start at the forefront, exploring technologies poised to redefine how we deliver vision care. We will provide a comprehensive global perspective on artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on our daily lives, especially for those experiencing blindness and partial sight. Our focus will be on the digital frontier, aiming to offer a practical and critical update on teleophthalmology. For professionals and industry leaders, we will demonstrate how AI is evolving from a diagnostic tool to an integrated partner in care, capable of predicting disease progression in conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and AMD and of personalizing treatment strategies.
Simultaneously, we will address the pressing question of bias: how can we ensure that these powerful algorithms are built on equitable access and diverse data, serving people with lived experience — including those who are blind, DeafBlind, and partially-sighted — as well as people with other disabilities, fairly and equitably? We will examine what’s working, what’s failing, and how we can develop a truly connected national network that eliminates the distance between patients and the care they deserve. Additionally, we will review recent AI-driven consumer trends and innovative assistive technologies that create new opportunities for people with vision loss to participate more fully and equitably in contemporary society.
Afternoon Session:
After lunch, we will provide a national update on the status and implementation of Bill C-284, the Act to establish a national strategy for eye care. We will analyze the national strategy mandated by the act and scheduled to be tabled by May 7th, a week prior to this conference, in each House of Parliament by Elizabeth Toller, Director General of Health Care Strategies at Health Canada.
We will address the often-overlooked human crisis by dedicating a compelling session to employment disparities, social stigma, and mental health in people living with blindness or low vision. Innovative research will highlight connections between vision loss and income inequality, followed by practical discussions on ending employer discrimination, improving support programs, and promoting mental health initiatives.
The day will conclude with a comprehensive overview, providing key updates on our innovative Ontario Population-Based Eye Disease Prevalence Study. This exclusive, detailed briefing, hosted by the study’s Principal Investigator, will cover the study’s progress, methods, and potential impacts.
World Sight Day Conference 2026: Our Annual Progress Report on the Status of Canada’s Eye Health
Theme: Alignment and Action: Forging a Unified Path Forward
Morning Session:
Nearly two years after the passage of Bill C-284, this conference transitions from isolated initiatives to a coordinated strategy, fostering alignment across the vision health ecosystem.
The morning will offer a thorough overview of Canada’s eye health, featuring honest insights from key stakeholders about today and the future — including ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, patient and vision rehabilitation groups, industry representatives, and government officials. It will provide a transparent review of progress, challenges, and unmet needs.
Afternoon Session:
What drives the advocacy engine? We will turn the morning’s findings into action. After lunch, we will focus on key levers of change: advocating for affordable innovation, mastering public awareness campaigns, building partnerships, removing barriers to equitable care, and, most importantly, embedding the fundamental principle of patient-led advocacy (“Nothing About Us Without Us”) into every policy and product. We will discuss developing a collective action plan for 2027 and will shift from a collection of voices to a powerful chorus.
We will once again conclude the day’s conference with a macro-overview, sharing key updates on our ground-breaking Ontario Population-Based Eye Disease Prevalence Study. This exclusive, detailed briefing, led by the study’s Principal Investigator, will address the study’s progress, methodologies, and potential implications.
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Toronto Public Reference Library, Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto, Ontario
10:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for a continental breakfast.)
Regarding Our Keynote Speakers
Our conference keynote speakers are leaders in their fields and are carefully selected to engage and inspire attendees. We will announce their participation 45 days prior to each conference.
Vision Health Canada
Vision Health Canada (VHC) is committed to advocating for a future without vision barriers. This will be achieved through ongoing collaborative leadership in policy reform, research, advocating for improved treatments, technological innovation, and community empowerment, all while working to position Canada as a global leader in achieving vision health equity. VHC is dedicated to supporting those with lived experience — our families, our friends, our neighbours, and our co-workers who are blind, DeafBlind, or partially-sighted — to ensure a quality of life equivalent to that of our fellow Canadians and to transform vision health across Canada.
During our 2026 conference series, VHC will aim to move beyond just discussion to deliver practical strategies, based on the latest data and driven by a shared commitment with our community to a future where no Canadian faces preventable blindness. Together, we hope to spark the translation of research into practice and policy into action.