A Meaningful Moment for Safer Care: Introducing the 2025 CPSW Theme
By Jennifer Zelmer, President & CEO and Adrienne Zarem, Embedded Patient Partner, Healthcare Excellence Canada
Safer care doesn’t happen by chance — it’s something we create together.
This year, Canadian Patient Safety Week (October 27–31, 2025) marks 20 years since this pan-Canadian campaign began. Each year, it brings people together around a shared goal: making healthcare safer for everyone. This anniversary offers a meaningful moment of reflection.
While there has been progress in some areas, many of the challenges that existed two decades ago remain today. This milestone is an opportunity to pause, consider where we are, and renew our shared commitment to moving forward — together.
That’s why this year’s theme is All Voices for Safer Care.
It’s a reminder that safer care isn’t the responsibility of one person, profession, or policy. It takes all of us. Your voice matters, whether you’re delivering care, shaping policy, supporting a loved one, or navigating the system yourself. And when we listen, reflect and act together, we create the conditions for real, lasting change.
Safety is more than the absence of harm. All Voices for Safer Care invites us to rethink what makes people feel safe, such as respect, trust, compassion and cultural understanding. It also invites us to centre and listen more closely to people whose voices haven’t always been heard in conversations about safety, especially those most affected by health inequities.
Throughout CPSW 2025, Healthcare Excellence Canada will be sharing stories, tools and partnerships that reflect this commitment. For instance, we’ve heard how important it is for people to see peers engaged in this work — for validation, motivation and a sense of shared purpose. Watch for a new blog series spotlighting champions from across the country — people helping to redefine what safer care looks like in their communities and settings. These stories highlight what’s possible when we learn from one another and take action together.
As we count down to October, we’ll be sharing more ways to get involved, from campaign resources and webinars to ideas for local engagement.
Stay connected and be the first to know how you can participate:
Let’s continue listening. Let’s move forward together.
Because safer care starts with all of us.
Continue the momentum year round
Your continued efforts can help make progress towards safer care. Here are some ways you can continue exploring and improving safety with these resources.
Understand the core of patient safety with our free, self-directed e-learning module.
Get informed and kick-start conversations with this statement and discussion guide.
Learn how people are championing patient safety in different healthcare settings
