Breast screening in Canada, 2023-24
About this section
Breast screening is available in all Canadian jurisdictions and organized breast screening programs are available in most provinces and territories. Across Canada, individuals who are asymptomatic (no signs or symptoms of breast cancer present) and at average risk for breast cancer are screened. People who have symptoms of breast cancer are able to access diagnostic services, regardless of their eligibility to the screening program. Screening strategies for individuals who are at elevated or high-risk for breast cancer can be found here.
This section describes breast screening programs, guidelines, and recruitment methods in provinces and territories across Canada.
All Canadian jurisdictions offer breast screening. There is variability in how each jurisdiction provides screening services, with some offering fully organized programs, while others screen opportunistically. Screening parameters, referral strategies, screening intervals, and promotional strategies, as well as integrated IT systems, are all elements of organized screening programs (WHO, IARC).
Breast screening programs in Canada
| P/T | Program start date | Program name | Agency responsible for program administration |
|---|---|---|---|
| YT | 1990 | Yukon Mammography Program | Government of Yukon (Yukon Hospital Corporation) |
| NT* | 2004
2008 |
Yellowknife Breast Screening Program (YKBSP) Hay River Breast Screening Program (HRBSP) |
Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) Hay River Health and Social Services Authority (HRSSA) |
| NU | Opportunistic screening only | ||
| BC | 1988 | BC Cancer Breast Screening Program | BC Cancer |
| AB | 1990 | Alberta Breast Cancer Screening Program (ABCSP) | Alberta Health Services |
| SK | 1990 | Screening Program for Breast Cancer | Saskatchewan Cancer Agency |
| MB | 1995 | BreastCheck | CancerCare Manitoba |
| ON | 1990 | Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) | Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) |
| QC | 1998 | Programme québécois de dépistage du cancer du sein (PQDCS) | Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux |
| NB | 1995 | New Brunswick Breast Cancer Screening Services | New Brunswick Cancer Network (NB Department of Health) |
| NS | 1991 | Nova Scotia Breast Screening Program | IWK Health Centre |
| PE | 1998 | PEI Breast Screening Program | Health PEI |
| NL | 1996 | Breast Screening Program for Newfoundland and Labrador | Cancer Care Program, Newfoundland Labrador Health Services |
*NT: Yellowknife Breast Screening Program (YKBSP) and Hay River Breast Screening Program (HRBSP) support 15 of 33 NT communities. The remaining 18 communities that are not part of an organized program book mammograms through the diagnostic imaging department that services their region.