As the health of women finally gets the attention it deserves, Women’s College Hospital reminds Canadians it has been challenging the status quo for more than 140 years.
TORONTO, Sept. 23, 2026 — Today, Women’s College Hospital Foundation launched The Future Follows Us, a bold new campaign that celebrates Women’s College Hospital’s history of challenging what healthcare accepts as possible and calls on Canadians to help fund what comes next.
The campaign arrives as conversations about gaps in research, funding and care for women move increasingly into the mainstream. For Women’s College Hospital, this is more than a cultural moment. Advancing the health of women has been at the heart of its work from the beginning.
“At Women’s College Hospital, we have never waited for the world to catch up. For generations, we have challenged a healthcare system that too often overlooked women, asked the questions others were not asking, and built new models of care when the old ones were not good enough,” said Sandra Sualim, President and CEO, Women’s College Hospital Foundation. “Now is the moment to turn unprecedented attention into action. With bold philanthropic investment, we can accelerate discovery, transform care and build the future of healthcare for women, and ultimately, for everyone.”
Left to right: Melissa Grelo (TV personality & host), Sandra Sualim (CEO of Women’s College Hospital Foundation), and Vanessa Wright (winner of Women’s College Hospital’s 2026 Breakthrough Challenge)
Founded at a time when women were excluded from practicing medicine, Women’s College Hospital has continually pioneered breakthroughs. From inventing the Pap test for cervical cancer screening to establishing North America’s first heart health program designed exclusively for women, the hospital has always been shaping the future of healthcare for women.
Additionally, Women’s College Hospital discovered hereditary cancer genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers, launched the first hospital-based gender affirming surgery program in Canada, and established Women’s Age Lab, the first and only centre of its kind in the world dedicated to addressing health inequities experienced by older women.
“For 140 years, Women’s College Hospital has challenged the status quo and pushed healthcare forward,” said Heather McPherson, President & CEO, Women’s College Hospital. “Our strategic plan, Healthcare Revolutionized 2030, builds on that legacy with a clear ambition to lead the new era of sex and gender in health, advance health equity and reimagine how care is delivered. We’re proud of our history of firsts, but we’re even more focused on our next firsts and how they can change healthcare for generations to come.”
Today, Women’s College Hospital continues to tackle gaps across research and care, including cancer, cardiac health, mental health, gender affirming care, menopause, endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain, while developing new approaches with the potential to improve healthcare far beyond its walls.
The Future Follows Us is a promise about what comes next.
The integrated campaign brings that confidence to life through provocative creative rooted in Women’s College Hospital’s history and work, including:
“Someone had to start including women in medicine.”
“In our research women aren’t outliers, they’re the focus.”
“We diagnose endometriosis in days, not decades.”
“We opened a menopause clinic before it was medicine’s hottest trend.”
The campaign will roll out through out of home, digital and social advertising, supported by 60, 30, 15 and six second video spots. A sneak peek was shared on September 18 during a Toronto Tempo theme night, Her Health, Her Night, in partnership with Women’s College Hospital Foundation and CIBC, connecting the growing cultural momentum around women’s sport with an equally important conversation about the health of women.
Philanthropic support can accelerate research, expand access to innovative care, invest in emerging healthcare leaders, and give teams the technology and resources they need to turn promising ideas into real change.
“We have the ideas. We have the expertise. We have more than 140 years of proof that change is possible,” said Sualim. “What we need now is the investment to accelerate it. We’re inviting Canadians to help us build what comes next.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Michelle Tafler
VP Marketing & Communications
Women’s College Hospital Foundation
michelle.tafler@wchospital.ca / (647) 502-621