A new poll from Holland Bloorview reveals most Canadians aren’t aware of a looming crisis created by an acute shortage of clinicians who provide specialized disability care.
While 91 per cent of Canadians surveyed recognize that delays in accessing health care have the potential to negatively impact outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, only about one in seven truly understand how limited the specialized pediatric workforce is for families seeking disability care and support.
This is according to a recent survey by Canadian polling firm Leger and released today by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Canada’s hospital for kids with disabilities.
The reality is stark: while there are 1 million children and youth with disabilities in Canada, there are only 159 developmental pediatricians in the country, with 23% retiring in the next 5 years.
Through Together We Dare, we’re raising $100 million to establish A Centre for Excellence in Childhood Disability. Holland Bloorview is already training more specialized health care providers, and accelerating, spreading and scaling some of the groundbreaking research, technology and care innovations developed by teams at Canada’s largest pediatric rehabilitation hospital.
“Behind every wait list is a child who is developing, learning and growing. Access to the right care at the right time can change the trajectory of a child’s life,” says Sandra Hawken, CEO and President of Holland Bloorview Foundation.
We’re filling urgent gaps in care through our developmental pediatrics subspecialty residency and fellowship program. Thanks to The Slaight Family Foundation, we are doubling the number of trainees each year. We also train the next generation of physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, psychologists, recreational therapists, music therapists and more.
We’re calling on Canadians to dare to stand up for kids with disabilities everywhere and making sure that kids can get timely access to care, whenever and wherever they need it.
About the survey
Leger is the largest Canadian-owned full-service market research firm. An online survey of 1,514 Canadians aged 18+ was completed from July 31 – August 3, 2026, using Leger’s online panel. Leger’s online panel has approximately 500,000 members nationally and has a retention rate of 90 per cent. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.