Welcome to ‘AMR Aware News’, a voice for the AMR Aware Canada collaboration, annual campaign, and CAN AMS! webinar series.
AMR AWARE CANADA
Building Change through Partnership
The success of AMR Aware Canada relies on the strength of our partnerships. Together with our new and longstanding partners, we are building a stronger, more coordinated approach to raising awareness about AMR across Canada.
By collaborating on shared approaches, amplifying one another’s messages, and exchanging valuable resources, our partners help extend the reach and impact of this campaign.
For the 2026 campaign, AMR Aware Canada is focused on creating opportunities for patient and student-led action, identifying resources that support equity-seeking and priority populations, and strengthening our One Health representation in alignment with this year’s World AMR Awareness Week theme.
By bringing together diverse expertise, perspectives, and networks, our partners play a critical role in helping us achieve these objectives.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
PREVENT-AMR
We’re pleased to welcome PREVENT-AMR, an interdisciplinary research cluster at the University of British Columbia, as a collaborator. Bringing together expertise in human, animal, and environmental health, PREVENT-AMR takes a One Health approach to the global challenge of AMR with a focus on prevention. Their work spans five themes, including equity and access, where NCCID staff contribute to exploring how equity is addressed in existing AMR resources—a collaboration that may also generate insights for AMR Aware Canada.
Interested in joining PREVENT-AMR? Click here.
Canada’s Drug Agency
We’re pleased to recognize Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) for its engagement in AMR Aware Canada and for helping build connections across Canada’s medication-use and public awareness communities. CDA-AMC connected us with the Public Awareness Committee of the Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network (CADeN) and the Appropriate Use Coalition–a group of 10 organizations working collectively to improve appropriate prescribing–opening up opportunities to exchange perspectives with others working to promote the safe and appropriate use of medications. We value these connections as we work together to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance and support action across Canada.
To learn more click here.
Patients for Patient Safety
Patients for Patient Safety Canada (PFPSC) has been a valued, long-standing partner in AMR Aware Canada, helping bring patient perspectives into conversations about antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Their commitment to public awareness is reflected in their AMR resources and their HeART of HealthCARE virtual gallery, which includes a gallery dedicated to AMR awareness and uses creative expression to explore the impacts of infection, AMR and sepsis. We’re grateful for the PFPSC volunteers who continue to share their insights and are excited to explore further opportunities to co-create resources with patients, guided by their experiences and perspectives.
To view PFPS resources on AMR click here.
Do Bugs Need Drugs
A long-standing partner in AMR Aware Canada, Do Bugs Need Drugs is a community program that promotes infection prevention and the wise use of antibiotics to help slow the development of antibiotic resistance. Now part of Primary Care Alberta, the program makes its Guide to Wise Use of Antibiotics available in more than 25 languages, including Indigenous languages and languages spoken by immigrant communities. By making practical health information available across languages, Do Bugs Need Drugs helps more people access resources to support informed conversations about antibiotic use and infection prevention.
To learn more click here.
See our full list of partners on our website.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Explain It Like I’m Six 2025 Contest Winners
How do you explain antimicrobial resistance to a six-year-old? The Explain It Like I’m 6: An Antimicrobial Resistance Education Contest, presented in partnership by the University of Toronto’s Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC), the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Network (CAN-AMR-Net) and bioMérieux Canada, challenged students and recent graduates to do just that.
With permission from the creators, we’re delighted to spotlight three of the award-winning entries and share their imaginative approaches to making AMR science accessible.
1st prize winner: Cianne Coutinho for “Gerry and the Germs: The everyday fight against antimicrobial resistance”
2nd prize winner: Md Ramim Tanver Rahman for “The Great Bug Battle”
3rd prize winner: Blair Reid for “The Tale of the Four Sneaky Microbes”
CALLING ALL STUDENTS!
Represent Canada in the Global Movement: #GoBlueForAMR
This World AMR Awareness Week, we’re inviting university and college students across Canada to join Blue Across Canada, a social-media moment led by AMR Aware Canada. Inspired by the World Health Organization’s global Go Blue for AMR initiative, students can add their voices to the conversation about antimicrobial resistance.
Interested in joining Blue Across Canada?
CAN AMS! WEBINARS
Missed one of the last CAN AMS! Webinars?
Global Mobility, Local Impact: Coordinating the Response to Carbapenemase-producing Organisms (CPOs)
October 7, 2026
From Point of Care to Practice Change: Antimicrobial Stewardship for Dental Conditions
September 22, 2026
PARTNER EVENTS AND FEATURED RESOURCES
EVENTS
CAN-AMR-Net
AMR: A One Health Approach Seminar Series
Date: Tuesdays, Sep 29–Dec 1, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Session 5: Oct 27, 2026: AMR In The Human Clinic
The AMR: A One Health Approach Seminar Series hosted by CAN-AMR-Net brings together experts from diverse disciplines to explore issues pertaining to AMR, promote transdisciplinary training, and offer practical strategies to combat AMR on all fronts and a One Health perspective.
2026 AMR Symposium
Date: November 18-19, 2026
Location: Toronto, ON or Virtual
Celebrate the Symposium’s 5th anniversary while connecting with Canada’s AMR community and exploring innovative approaches, practical tools, and impactful strategies for Fighting AMR Where We Can Make the Most Impact.
Check out the recently announced speakers!
Canadian Patient Safety Week (CPSW)
Date: October 26-30th
Canadian Patient Safety Week (CPSW) is an annual campaign organized by Healthcare Excellence Canada that brings people together around a shared goal: making healthcare safer for everyone. Add your voice to the campaign with a word or quote in answer to the question: What shapes safer care for you?
FEATURED RESOURCES
Antimicrobial Resistance Fighter Stories
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) affects people and communities around the world, and addressing it takes collective action. The Antimicrobial Resistance Fighter Coalition brings together stories from patients and family members, clinicians, researchers, and people working in organizations around the world who are committed to tackling AMR. Explore their stories to learn what motivates them, how they are contributing to the response, and why addressing antimicrobial resistance matters.
Actions We Must Take
This video was debuted at the UN High-Level Meeting on AMR, held April 29, 2021. It highlights the global efforts of patients, clinicians, and organizations and the actions needed to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Vanessa’s antimicrobial resistance story (AMR)
Vanessa was in a car accident when she was 25, which was followed by years of facial reconstruction. A recurring infection in her face led to her spending 11 months in and out of hospital, battling relentless pain, until she was finally diagnosed with a drug-resistant infection and received the right treatment. Hear Vanessa’s powerful perspective on antimicrobial resistance and what we can learn from her experience.
HELP US GROW AMR AWARE CANADA
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This bulletin is produced by the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID), the coordinating lead for the AMR Aware Canada collaboration. NCCID receives funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Agency.