The Hospice Association of Ontario (HAO) is Canada's largest volunteer hospice organization, consisting of more than 180 community-based volunteer organizations providing high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care for individuals living with a life-threatening illness, and those who care for them.

First Time Here?

Thanks for visiting! To learn more about the Hospice Association of Ontario, you can read our organizational overview, review our list of programs and services, or browse a list of frequently asked questions. To learn more about palliative care in Ontario, visit the Hospice Ontario section of our site, which includes a searchable database of hospices and related organizations throughout the province. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you!

Our Mandate

The Hospice Association's mission is to ensure that our members consistently deliver the finest end-of-life care possible to individuals with life-threatening conditions, their families and friends.

“There will always be a need for caring, for compassion, for respect, and for providing choices in care settings. And there will always be the need for the Hospice Association of Ontario and its members to ensure that people in Ontario, no matter where they live, die with dignity.”
– Janet Napper, Former Executive Director

Caring, compassion, collaboration, sincerity and responsibility serve as our core values, guiding our decisions and actions.

One Vision One Voice: 2010 Annual Hospice Palliative Care Conference

The first joint conference ever to be hosted by the Hospice Association of Ontario and the Ontario Palliative Care Association was a stunning success! The theme of the conference, "One Vision One Voice", reflected the historic collaboration of these two associations. Many thanks to the delegates, presenters, sponsors and volunteers who made it happen.

The call for abstracts for our 2010 conference, which will be held from April 18 to 20 of this year, is available for download in PDF format. You are also welcome to download our abstract submission form and our workshop submission form. Please visit our conference website for more information as it becomes available.

Annual General Meeting 2009

This year's annual meeting of the membership of the Hospice Association of Ontario was held in Toronto on Thursday, 24 September 2009 at 5:00 PM. Many thanks to all those who attended! Minutes from the meeting and our annual report will be circulated shortly.