Manulife Canada Announces $1 Million Commitment to Power Quebec's First Clinic Dedicated to Personalized Dementia Prevention

The 'Douglas Cognitive Health and Prevention Clinic powered by Manulife' aims to slow the progression of dementia before symptoms appear

Commitment reflects Manulife Canada's ambition to help people live longer and healthier lives through evidence-based prevention

MONTREAL, April 8, 2026 /CNW/ - Manulife Canada today announced a $1 million dollar commitment over four years to support the Douglas Cognitive Health and Prevention Clinic powered by Manulife at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. The Clinic is Quebec's first precision medicine dementia prevention clinic, focused on identifying individual risk earlier and tailoring care accordingly. It helps adults aged 40 and older reduce their risk of dementia through personalized, evidence-based prevention plans that target the factors most associated with cognitive decline.

The need for accessible and effective prevention is growing. In 2020, nearly 600,000 Canadians were living with dementia and that number is projected to reach 1.7 million by 2050ⁱ. Without meaningful prevention strategies, Canada could face escalating health‑care demands, placing unprecedented pressure on families, communities, and the healthcare system. These trends underscore the importance of personalized, evidence-based approaches like those offered by the Clinic.

"Dementia has a profound impact on people's lives, families, and communities—and with no cure today, the human toll is deeply felt across Canada," said Naveed Irshad, President and CEO, Manulife Canada. "That's why we're investing in earlier, evidence-based prevention through the Douglas Cognitive Health and Prevention Clinic powered by Manulife, reflecting our commitment to longevity leadership and to helping Canadians live more years in better health."

By testing targeted, personalized interventions informed by both clinical expertise and cutting-edge research, the Clinic aims to determine whether a streamlined, focused team can deliver meaningful improvements in cognitive health at scale as well as validate an approach that could eventually be replicated by care providers across the province and Canada.

"There is no known cure for Alzheimer's disease, but research shows that up to forty per cent of cases could be prevented by addressing modifiable risk factorsⁱⁱ," said Dr. Simon Ducharme, Clinical Lead of the Douglas Cognitive Health and Prevention Clinic powered by Manulife. "Personalized, research informed interventions can change the trajectory of cognitive aging. Manulife Canada's support strengthens our ability to deliver targeted prevention and helps us build a model that can expand access to life changing care for many more people."

Manulife Canada's investment supports a model designed to move beyond traditional one-size-fits-all approaches to dementia prevention. Patients receive a comprehensive assessment that identifies the lifestyle, metabolic, and genetic factors shaping individual risk, which informs a tailored prevention plan. These plans draw on validated interventions such as cardiovascular risk management, physical activity coaching, nutritional counselling, cognitive stimulation and sleep quality improvements, alongside emerging, research-informed tools. Patients can access the Clinic through a physician referral or eventually by self-referring through an online risk assessment tool.

The Clinic operates within the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and works closely with the Centre for Studies on the Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (StoP-AD), a nationally recognized leader in presymptomatic Alzheimer's research. This integration allows clinicians, neurologists, psychiatrists, geneticists and biomarker specialists to collaborate on prevention strategies that connect scientific discovery with patient care.

"As the first clinic of its kind in Quebec, this initiative represents an important step forward for dementia prevention in the province. Quebec plays an important role in Manulife's Canadian business, and we're proud to support innovative, personalized care that helps strengthen the health of our communities through earlier, evidence-based prevention," said Alexis Gerbeau, Head of Quebec, Manulife Canada.

This initiative is aligned to the Manulife Longevity Instituteⁱⁱⁱ, a global research, thought leadership, advocacy, innovation, and community investment platform that aims to drive action to help people thrive at every age. The Clinic's work contributes to this platform by generating real-world data, strengthening research, and building a model of care that has the potential for population-level impact across Quebec and Canada.

For more information on the Longevity Institute, visit Manulife.com/Longevity. 

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Anchored in our ambition to be the number one choice for customers, we operate as Manulife across Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice, insurance and health solutions for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment solutions, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2025, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 106,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 37 million customers with operations across 25 markets globally. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

About the Douglas Mental Health University Institute

The Douglas Mental Health University Institute is one of Canada's leading mental health institutions and an internationally recognized centre of excellence in research and clinical care. Affiliated with McGill University, it is home to one of the country's most dynamic and impactful mental health research ecosystems, contributing to advances in care, knowledge, and innovation.

Media contacts

Manulife:

Emily English

Media Relations

[email protected]

(647) 544-2800

Douglas Foundation

Ann-Julie Nadeau

Senior Advisor, Annual Giving & communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

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