CMT Resources in Canada

People with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) in Canada usually get help through a family doctor’s referral to a provincial neuromuscular clinic and medical genetics program, through Muscular Dystrophy Canada, which serves everyone with a neuromuscular disorder, including CMT, and through provincial aids programs and federal disability benefits. This page lists those clinics, programs, and Canadian support groups by topic and province. Canadian organizations come first.

On This Page

• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Neuromuscular Clinics
• Genetic Testing and Counselling
• Research, Registries, and Trials
• Braces, Shoes, and Equipment
• Money and Benefits
• Pain and Mental Health
• Support and Community
• A Note on US Charities
• History

Start Here

• Your family doctor or nurse practitioner. Ask for a referral to a neurologist and for nerve conduction studies and EMG. Genetic testing is usually ordered by a neurologist or a medical genetics clinic.
• Muscular Dystrophy Canada supports people with all neuromuscular disorders, including CMT, not only muscular dystrophy. Registering as a client is free and connects you with a regional services specialist and its Equipment Program. Call 1-800-567-2873.
• A neuromuscular clinic in your province, through a referral from your doctor.
• Your provincial medical genetics program, if you haven’t had genetic testing or your results were inconclusive.

Diagnosis and Neuromuscular Clinics

These clinics see people with inherited neuropathies. All of them need a referral from a physician or nurse practitioner unless noted, so the most useful thing here may be the name of the clinic to ask for.

Alberta

• Neuromuscular and Myasthenia Gravis Clinic, Kaye Edmonton Clinic (adults). 780-407-5475.
• EMG Lab, Kaye Edmonton Clinic: nerve conduction and EMG testing. 780-407-5697. The clinic’s neurology services page covers general neurology and the EMG lab.
• Pediatric Neuromuscular Disease Clinic, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Edmonton (to age 17). 780-735-8276.
• Neuromuscular Clinic, South Health Campus, Calgary (adults). Referrals go to Neurology Central Access and Triage. 403-956-3454.
• Pediatric Neuromuscular Clinic, Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary. 403-955-5437.

British Columbia

• Neuromuscular Disease Unit, Vancouver General Hospital (adults): diagnosis, nerve testing, and consultation for BC residents.
• Neurological Care Centre, BC Children’s Hospital, which includes a neuromuscular program.
• Neuromusculoskeletal Outpatient Program, G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre: rehabilitation, not diagnosis. For residents of Vancouver Coastal Health or Yukon under 65.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba

• Paediatric Neurology, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, which includes a neuromuscular program.
• Neuromuscular and EMG Clinic, Riverview Health Centre, Winnipeg (adults). 204-478-6399.
• Neuromuscular Clinic, Rehabilitation Centre for Children, Winnipeg. Referral comes from the clinic’s own neurologists.

Ontario

• Prosserman Family Neuromuscular Clinic, Toronto General Hospital (UHN), Toronto (adults). Physicians use the UHN referral form.
• Neuromuscular Clinic, SickKids, Toronto (to age 18), which runs a dedicated CMT clinic. 416-813-7037.
• Ottawa Neuromuscular Centre, The Ottawa Hospital (adults), which lists CMT and runs clinical trials. 613-761-4324.
• Neuromuscular Clinic, CHEO, Ottawa (children).
• Neuromuscular Clinic, London Health Sciences Centre, which sees hereditary neuropathies and includes genetic counselling.
• Neuromuscular and Neurometabolic Clinic, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton. 905-521-7933.

Quebec

• Neuromuscular Program, The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital). 514-398-8551.
• Neuromuscular Diseases, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal (children), with follow-up at the Centre de réadaptation Marie Enfant.

Atlantic Canada

• Neurology Clinic, Halifax Infirmary (Nova Scotia Health). I couldn’t find a dedicated adult neuromuscular clinic page.
• Neurology, IWK Health, Halifax (under 16), including nerve and muscle conditions.

Genetic Testing and Counselling

Publicly funded genetic testing usually starts with a referral from a neurologist or to a medical genetics clinic. A genetic counsellor can explain what your results do and don’t mean, including variants of uncertain significance.

• Alberta: Clinical and Metabolic Genetics Program, Edmonton (780-407-7333) and Calgary (403-955-7373). MyHealth Alberta lists a neurogenetics clinic for inherited neuromuscular conditions.
• Ontario: Ontario Genetics Clinic Directory, which has a neurogenetics filter.
• Anywhere in Canada: Find a Clinic, the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors’ clinic search.

Research, Registries, and Trials

• Neuromuscular Disease Network for Canada (NMD4C) links researchers, clinicians, and patients across the country. Its resource hub collects care guides and webinars.
• Canadian Neuromuscular Clinical Trial Database (NMD4C), updated monthly. In October 2026 it listed a Novartis CMT1A trial recruiting in Sherbrooke and Montreal.
• ClinicalTrials.gov: CMT studies in Canada. Add the “Recruiting” filter to see studies you could join.
• Canadian Neuromuscular Disease Registry (CNDR) welcomes anyone diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition. CMT has no disease-specific registry yet, but you can still register, online or through your clinic. Registries are how researchers find people for studies and trials.
• University of Alberta: the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute and the Christine Webber Lab work on peripheral nerve damage and regeneration.

Braces, Shoes, and Equipment

Provincial Programs

• Alberta: Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL) covers orthotic braces such as AFOs, custom-made and modified footwear, walking aids, and wheelchairs after a clinical assessment, but not foot orthotics. For braces you need a recent prescription and an assessment by a certified orthotist. Most people pay a 25% cost share, up to $500 a year per person or family; low-income Albertans and people on income assistance don’t pay it.
• Ontario: Assistive Devices Program (ADP) pays 75% of approved costs for a custom orthotic brace you’ll need for six months or longer, or up to 100% for people on ODSP or Ontario Works. Don’t buy the brace before your application is approved.
• Ontario: Home and Vehicle Modification Program, run by March of Dimes Canada, funds basic home and vehicle modifications for Ontarians with a substantial physical disability.
• British Columbia: PharmaCare covers leg braces only to age 18. Adults on income or disability assistance can get AFOs through health supplements.
• Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Aids to Independent Living (SAIL) includes a prosthetics and orthotics program.
• Quebec: RAMQ’s program for devices that compensate for a physical deficiency covers orthoses for people with a motor deficiency.
• Other provinces: ask your physiotherapist or occupational therapist about your provincial aids program, or call 2-1-1.

Anywhere in Canada

• Muscular Dystrophy Canada Equipment Program helps registered clients pay for equipment government programs don’t cover, from bathroom aids to power wheelchairs. Items must cost over $200, and you need a prescription and two quotes before you buy.
• Makers Making Change, a program of the Neil Squire Society, connects people with volunteer makers who build low-cost, open-source assistive devices across Canada. Neil Squire also helps people with disabilities with assistive technology and employment.
• Orthotics Prosthetics Canada: Find a Professional lists certified orthotists, who fit AFOs and other braces.
• BILLY Footwear Canada sells zip-open adaptive shoes, including styles made to fit over AFOs, and ships from within Canada. More in BILLY’s in Canada now!

Money and Benefits

Federal

• Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is for people with a severe and prolonged impairment, and is the gateway to most other federal disability benefits. You apply with Form T2201, part of which your medical practitioner fills out.
• Canada Disability Benefit: monthly payments for people aged 18 to 64 who are approved for the DTC and have filed their taxes. See eligibility.
• CPP Disability: for people who have paid into the Canada Pension Plan and can’t work because of a disability.
• Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP): long-term savings with government grants and bonds.

Alberta

• AISH and the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) share one application. Alberta counts the Canada Disability Benefit as income for these programs.

Other Provinces and Discounts

• Provincial coverage for braces, footwear, and equipment is listed under Braces, Shoes, and Equipment.
• Access 2 Card, from Easter Seals, lets your support person in free at hundreds of participating cinemas, attractions, and venues across Canada when you pay regular admission. It’s for people of any age with a permanent disability who need a support person.

Pain and Mental Health

• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8, any time, anywhere in Canada.
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, any time. Health Link is 811.
• Canadian Mental Health Association: chronic pain and depression often travel together. CMHA has branches across the country; find yours for local programs and courses.
• Pain Canada offers free national programs, including a one-session pain-relief skills class, and maps free self-management programs province by province.
• Pain BC: education, coaching, and a free Pain Support Line for BC residents (1-833-261-7246). Its free LivePlanBe self-management site is open to anyone.
• Pain Society of Alberta holds an annual conference and shares resources on coping with chronic pain.
• Chronic Pain Support & Connections, based in Calgary, offers free peer support one-on-one and in groups, by phone, video, or in person. It’s peer support, not therapy or medical advice.
• Tip: massage therapy schools often run student clinics where supervised students give massages at a discount.

Support and Community

National Organizations

• Muscular Dystrophy Canada serves people with all neuromuscular disorders, not just muscular dystrophy. See Start Here to register as a client.
• Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD): a national network and policy voice for people with rare disorders.
• GBS/CIDP Foundation of Canada: for Guillain-Barré syndrome, CIDP, and related acquired neuropathies, which are sometimes confused with CMT.

Groups and Programs

• Calgary Neuropathy Association, founded and led by people with CMT-type neuropathies, runs support meetings, monthly webinars, and an information line for people with any neuropathy, wherever they live. 403-668-9777.
• NeuroSask: Active and Connected, from the University of Saskatchewan, is a drop-in Zoom program for people with neurological conditions: twice-weekly exercise and stretching classes, plus time to talk. People join from across Canada. Register on the program page, or email neurosask@usask.ca to get session links.
• Ability Online is a free, moderated online community where young people aged 7 to 30 with disabilities or chronic illness connect with peers and mentors.
• CMT Canada is the Facebook group started by the late Linda Crabtree.

A Note on US Charities

The CMTA calls the UHN and SickKids clinics in Toronto “Centers of Excellence” because it funds work there. Both are Canadian public hospital clinics you can be referred to without any CMTA involvement.

History

Linda Crabtree of St. Catharines, a member of the Order of Canada, founded CMT International and spent decades making CMT known in Canada and beyond. Brock University keeps her archive.

Last checked October 10, 2026. Every link was checked against the organization’s own site. Programs and phone numbers change, so confirm details before you rely on them. Missing something, or found a dead link? Let me know.