MS Canada

James Stephen (seen above as #12030) ran the half marathon distance in the 2023 Tamarack Ottawa Marathon and raised almost $600 for MS Canada.

“In 1997, my mother Patricia Anne Stephen lost her battle with MS. She was a nurse at Scarborough General Hospital and spent her career helping children recover from illnesses. Unfortunately, after she was diagnosed with MS, she had to leave her job and was confined to a wheelchair. The MS Society was a huge help during that time, and I cannot thank them enough. 

I have participated in many walks to raise money and in 2023, I ran the half marathon in the Tamarack Ottawa Marathon to raise more money for the MS Society (re-branded in 2023 to "MS Canada"). The MS Society has already done so much, but there is more work to do, and I plan on continuing to raise money and awareness in their name.”

As a follow-up to this race experience, James interviewed Ian Fraser, the Executive Director of the Tamarack Ottawa Marathon, on "Soaring Prophets," a podcast he co-hosts with his friend Patrick. 

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Help Create a World Free of MS

Every 12 minutes, someone in Canada is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), making Canada hold one of the highest rates of MS in the world.

MS is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (i.e., brain, spinal cord) and most people are diagnosed with it between the ages of 20 and 49. 

Since roughly one in every 400 Canadians (over 90,000 people) lives with MS today, your donation is needed to provide crucial support and services to those in the MS community while also enabling MS Canada to invest in life-changing research to create a world free of MS.

As of January 2023, MS Canada amalgamated two previously known entities – the MS Society of Canada and the MS Scientific Research Foundation – but still maintained its vision of a world free of MS. For 75 years, the organization has been relentless in its fight, continuously funding research to expand the current MS knowledge base.

With your help, MS Canada will work to alleviate the uncertainty that MS causes, help provide accessible options for disease management, collaborate with partners to eliminate physical and social barriers in communities, advocate for people living with MS, and ask governments to improve policies that impact the everyday lives of those affected by MS.

For more information visit mscanada.ca