Annual Report

This year marked a historic milestone for the Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) as we celebrated our 100th anniversary. Throughout the year, we engaged members and commemorated this achievement in meaningful ways, culminating at our 100th Annual Conference in Halifax this past June. The event brought together the largest delegation in our history and served as a powerful reminder of the strength and unity of our community. Through commemorative exhibits, a time capsule, a founding story installation, and a special anniversary celebration, we honoured a century of progress while delivering an outstanding scientific program featuring valuable clinical updates, expert insights, and continued learning across the full spectrum of dermatology.

The capstone of our centennial year is Beneath the Skin, our commemorative publication produced in collaboration with Chronicle Companies. As our final official anniversary initiative, it celebrates the people, achievements, and impact of our community. Through personal reflections and stories from colleagues across Canada, it highlights our collective efforts to advance equitable access to dermatologic care, shape meaningful health policy, and strengthen medical education and lifelong learning. Just as importantly, it looks ahead, serving as both a tribute to the past 100 years and a statement of intent for the century to come.

As we enter our second century, advocacy remains one of our highest priorities. Building on strong momentum from previous years, the CDA made significant progress at the national, provincial, and international levels. This included participation in the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) World Skin Summit in Cape Town, where global leaders gathered to address the shared goal of making treatment accessible and affordable worldwide. With the World Health Organization’s recent resolution recognizing skin diseases as a public health priority and expanding the list of essential dermatologic medications, the importance of CDA’s presence in these global conversations has never been greater. While our primary sphere of influence is national, we recognize that healthcare delivery in Canada is largely provincial. Strengthening collaboration with provincial dermatology associations has therefore been a key focus. This year, we established bi-monthly national and provincial association meetings, creating a consistent forum to share insights, align priorities, and coordinate advocacy efforts. This collaborative approach has allowed the CDA to support provincial partners effectively, including issuing a public statement in support of l’Association des médecins dermatologues du Québec regarding concerns with Bill 2.

Guided by our advocacy platform, we advanced our understanding of Canada’s dermatologist workforce shortage and the solutions required to address it. Our report, More Than Skin Deep: Solutions to Narrow Canada’s Dermatology Gap, outlines clear, dermatologist-endorsed recommendations to improve access to care. One of the solutions is technology integration. On this front, our AI working group developed a CDA position statement, which was endorsed by the advocacy and Stakeholder committee and the board. It will guide our actions going forward as we integrate AI into the practice of dermatology. To further support our membership on this journey, we hosted an AI webinar and developed a collaboration with Heidi Health, providing complimentary trial access to AI-powered clinical documentation tools designed to help reduce administrative burden in practice.