From Grassroots to Parliament: Canada Lights the Way to Ending TB
This World TB Day, volunteers, partners, and parliamentarians once again came together to shine a light on tuberculosis (TB): a disease that is preventable and curable yet continues to claim over a million lives each year. We are grateful to everyone who took action, raised awareness, and stood in solidarity to call for a TB-free world.
TB is not just a disease, but a reflection of inequality. It persists not because solutions do not exist, but because access to those solutions remains unequal. Ending TB requires sustained advocacy, political commitment, and collective action. This year, volunteers across Canada demonstrated exactly what that looks like.
Across the country, individuals and groups came together to raise awareness, engage their communities, and call for action to end TB as part of Results Canada annual 'Light Up the Monuments Campaign'. Landmarks and monuments across Canada were lit in red as powerful symbols of solidarity, with a record number of over 75 sites participating this year.
From major city landmarks to community spaces across the country, these illuminations reflected a growing national commitment to raising awareness about TB and standing with the millions of people affected by it.
Each light served as both a tribute and a call to action, sparking conversations and reminding people that behind the statistics are real lives impacted by TB every day.
Volunteers also took action by organizing local gatherings in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Brampton, Waterloo, Victoria, Montreal, and more! They shared messages online and continued their advocacy efforts through meetings, outreach, and community engagement. These efforts highlight the strength of people-powered advocacy and the impact it can have in driving change.
At a TB Panel reception grounded in Indigenous perspectives, co-hosted by CAAN and Stop TB Canada, Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai delivered a compelling reminder of our shared responsibility: diseases know no borders and global health is inseparable from Canada’s own health security. Emphasizing the importance of coordinated action, Sarai commended advocacy organizations like Stop TB Canada and Results Canada for bridging international and domestic efforts, promoting knowledge exchange, and advancing integrated strategies to eradicate TB while addressing its disproportionate impact on vulnerable and underserved communities. Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands was in Ottawa to underscore the urgent need to better align global and domestic efforts to end TB, particularly as the disease continues to affect communities in Canada and around the world. He spoke on the Panel with representatives from Stop TB Canada and Grand Challenges Canada who echoed this message.
Member of Parliament Sonia Sidhu stood up in the House of Commons to make a statement sharing hopeful news:
Health Canada approved a new drug that will expand access to shorter, safer preventive TB treatment
Canada is advancing vaccine research and clinical trials and working with global partners like Gavi to expand immunization worldwide.
Organizations like Stop TB Canada and Results Canada are part of a broader network doing vital work on the ground and making a real difference.
Next Steps
Canada recently stepped up with a contribution to the Global Fund, following sustained efforts by our volunteers – but the fight is far from over.
We still need the tools to effectively reach communities in need, both in Canada and around the world. Together, we will continue advocating for stronger investments, particularly in the research and development of tools to prevent, diagnose and treat TB, as well as in building equitable health systems and sustaining global efforts to ensure that no one suffers from a disease that is entirely preventable and treatable.
While World TB Day is an important moment to reflect and mobilize, our work does not end here. We remain committed to generating the political will needed to end tuberculosis.