Our 75-Year Journey
We got our start in the race to end polio in the early 1950s.
The values of the Marching Mothers movement characterized our early identity and shaped who we are today.
Over time, our work evolved alongside people with disabilities who were
creating new possibilities for independent living, supportive housing, brain injury programs, employment pathways, and so much more.
We embraced the disability rights movement in Canada by partnering with governments, health care providers, employers, and community groups to raise expectations and advocate for accessible, inclusive, and responsive support that meets the needs and respects the dignity of people with disabilities.
Together, we've built an organization we're proud to support.
Thank you to our staff, volunteers, donors, and partners whose generosity, commitment, and passion have made us who we are today.
And thank you to people with disabilities, families, caregivers, and our community for your trust and for working alongside us over the past 75 years.
1950s
We got our start in
1951. Born out of the race to end polio, we raised millions of dollars for vaccine research and to support people who contracted the virus. Our official name was the Canadian Foundation for Poliomyelitis, but we were
more broadly known as the Ontario March of Dimes.
Women committed to putting their skills, energy, and knowledge into public life marched door-to-door collecting dimes in support of this important work.
Marching Mothers volunteers raising funds for polio research. Source: March of Dimes Canada Archives, 1950.
By the early 1960s, the Salk vaccine had pulled off the remarkable by virtually eliminating the spread of polio in Canada. But we recognized people with disabilities — many of them polio survivors — were navigating daily life with almost no support and few places to turn. The Rehabilitation Foundation for the Disabled was born out of this need. Alongside people with disabilities, we built programs in rehabilitation, vocational training, assistive devices, employment, and attendant care. We got bigger together. These programs are the foundation of our organization and make up the bulk of the services we still deliver today.
1960s
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Headlines announcing the breakthrough of the Salk polio vaccine. Source: Wikimedia Commons, 1955.
1970s
We officially became the Ontario March of Dimes in 1972. We chose a name people already knew and loved and dedicated ourselves to advancing the interests of people with disabilities. We proved this commitment seven years later when we helped organize the Coalition on Human Rights for the Handicapped to oppose legislation that would have excluded people with disabilities from Ontario’s Human Rights Code. Together, we built a community and championed disability.
Camping ’75 reflected our commitment to inclusive recreation and community. Source: MODC Archives, 1975.
We launched our
Post-Polio Program in
1982 offering care to people experiencing long-lasting effects of the virus. This was the foundation of our Peer Support Network and the earliest example of our cross-Canada commitment to people with disabilities. We also embraced independent living, community participation, and integrated employment opportunities as core features of our mission. Because we knew then, like we know now, that everyone wins when people with disabilities lead independent lives with dignity and autonomy.
1980s
Discussing the effects of Polio. Source: MODC Archives, 1985.
1990s
We made an organization-defining decision to invest in programming for people with acquired brain injuries. We launched a full suite of services for people who survived strokes, accidents, and illness resulting in brain injuries and those who needed community-led support based on lived experience to rebuild their lives and restore confidence. We also launched our Home and Vehicle Modification Program (HVMP) in partnership with the government of Ontario.
The Liu family accessing our Home and Vehicle Modification Program launched in the 1990s. Source: MODC Blog, 2022.
This is the decade we became a truly national organization: in both scope and name. In 2002, we transformed our decades old Post-Polio Program into Polio Canada, marking a major milestone in our organization’s history while honouring our commitment to polio survivors, families, and caregivers. We also launched Stroke Recovery Canada in 2005 — the predecessor of our After Stroke program — and rebranded as March of Dimes Canada in 2006.
2000s
Charles Nauss, a stroke survivor, with his spouse and caregiver, Aileen Nauss. Source: After Stroke article, MODC.
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2010s
After more than six decades of delivering services alongside people with disabilities across Canada, we recommitted ourselves to working with our disability community partners to advance and advocate for groundbreaking legislation, including the Accessible Canada Act. We also broadened our child and youth programming, while simultaneously expanding services and support for seniors and older people with disabilities who want to lead independent lives with dignity in their own homes and communities.
Community outreach at the 5th Annual Mount Pleasant Village BIA Harvest Fair. Source: March of Dimes Canada Flickr, 2014.
Our journey continues. As we mark 75 years of service, support, and advocacy, we continue to work alongside people with disabilities, families, caregivers, partners, and communities to build a more accessible and inclusive Canada.
