The many faces of the multiple sclerosis population in Canada.

BACKGROUND

We lack an understanding of the diversity characteristics of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada; most studies report only age and sex. We conducted a national survey to better understand the diversity characteristics of people living with MS in Canada

METHODS

From June 2025 to February 2026, we administered an anonymous online survey regarding diversity characteristics to people with MS in Canada who were aged 18 years and older. We measured diversity characteristics based on the PROGRESS-Plus framework. We summarized participant characteristics using descriptive statistics and UpSet plots.

RESULTS

Over eight months, 857 eligible people completed the survey. Most participants primarily identified as White (93.0%), followed by Indigenous (including First Nations, Metis and Inuk/Inuit, 4.9%), and Black (2.1%). Ten percent of participants (n = 86) were born outside Canada. The most common languages spoken at home were English (94.7%) and French (7.4%). Most participants were female at birth (83.5%) and 101 (11.9%) identified as 2SLGBTQI+. Half (51.2%) of the cohort had a household income exceeding $100,000, and 47.4% had at least one university degree.

CONCLUSION

Like Canada's population, the MS community is diverse, underscoring the need for future research and clinical care to be more inclusive.