Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR)

Women living with HIV in Canada are not living as long—or as well—as men living with HIV. We don’t fully understand why, and that’s exactly the problem.

Dr. Hélène Côté is the Chair of CANFAR's Scientific Advisory Committee. Drawing from years of clinical and epidemiological research, her message is clear: without a decisive shift toward women-centered HIV research and care, we risk widening an already dangerous gap.

Learn more about why women and HIV in Canada demand urgent attention, and what you can do to help:

Closing the Gap: Why Women and HIV in Canada Demand Urgent Attention | CANFAR HIV is often perceived as a managed, even stabilized condition—but this perception masks a critical and growing reality: women are an increasingly affected population, and the systems designed to understand, prevent, and treat HIV are not keeping pace.

Behind every great night at is a community of partners who make it all possible, helping us turn up the volume for HIV/AIDS research! For 29 years, new and returning sponsors, firms, concertgoers, and the like have supported our annual Bay St. battle of the bands—and we're all set to go again next Friday, June 5!

To our motley crew of sponsors for this year's edition: THANK YOU. Thank you for elevating our efforts to end HIV in Canada, and for helping us raise funds to direct toward vital rapid testing and linkage to care initiatives for the populations most in need.

Can we please get a standing ovation for venue partner The El Mocambo, champion sponsor Labatt Breweries of Canada, event sponsor Gowling WLG, People's Choice Award sponsor PwC Canada, band sponsors Davies, Torkin Manes, Cassels, Bloom Architects, and McCarthy Tétrault, spirits sponsor Maverick Distillery, wine sponsor Santa Margherita, liquor sponsor Fireball, photobooth sponsor Key Media (Lexpert & Canadian Lawyer), and CANFAR program partners BMO, LCBO, TD, and the P. Austin Family Foundation.

The Bloor Street Entertains 30th anniversary committee returns to host our landmark event on Thursday, November 19, 2026—and tickets are available now!

will celebrate the legacy of Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research fundraiser with exceptional dining by top chefs hosted inside prestigious fashion houses and signature venues throughout Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, culminating in the Official After Party at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). This milestone comes at a critical time: under-resourced communities across Canada are experiencing alarming rates of HIV and growing barriers to care, underscoring the urgent need to accelerate research and expand equitable access to HIV testing and linkage to care.

For 30 years, CANFAR’s Bloor Street Entertains has united Canada’s leaders in philanthropy, fashion, culture, and cuisine for one unforgettable night in support of ending HIV/AIDS. Co-chairs Sylvia Mantella, Janice Fricker, Candice Sinclair and Michael Liebrock are back alongside honorary chairs Dr. Trevor Born, Hon. Scott Brison, Melissa Campisi, Alex Filiatrault, Jimmy Molloy, Bernadette Morra, Janice O’Born, Valerie Pringle, David Simmonds, and Max St-Pierre to ensure the occasion is as fashionable as it is impactful. And can we talk about this amazing committee?! Every one is a volunteer with a connection to the cause and united in a common mission: to end HIV in Canada.

Three cheers for three decades of Bloor Street Entertains!

Dinner tickets, tables and after party tickets available now at CANFAR.com/bse.

Massive thank you to for capturing the committee's spirit of community in these stunning photos.

Thank you to our new and returning sponsors: red carpet sponsor Mantella Corporation, entertainment sponsor Stifel, illumination sponsors Labatt Breweries and Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, after party partner the Royal Ontario Museum, community partners ESP Inc. and Bloor-Yorkville, and CANFAR program partners BMO, TD, LCBO, and the P. Austin Family Foundation.

So proud to share that CANFAR's first-ever documentary short, STILL HERE, funded by Merck, has been selected for The Canadian Independent Film Festival - CIFF in Montreal next weekend! STILL HERE: A portrait of HIV & Aging, explores what living and aging with HIV looks like today through the lenses of 4-time Juno Award winner Billy Newton-Davis, drag and recording artist Jade Elektra, and Indigenous policy manager and advocate Trevor Stratton.

This is a humbling achievement for our first-ever foray into long-form storytelling, and we're so excited more people will get to see this intimate, raw and unfiltered look at what it really means to age well while living with HIV.

STILL HERE will screen on Sunday, May 24 in Block 2, from 2:30-4:00 PM at Casa d'Italia, located at 505 Rue Jean-Talon E, Montréal. Tickets are $11.19 each, available for purchase now: https://filmfreeway.com/CIFFofficial/tickets.

The next wave of Supergroups has officially entered the stadium!

Get ready to turn it all the way up for:
• Coda Conduct
• The Write-Offs
• Kings of Cassels

On Friday, June 5, more than 600 music fans, supporters, colleagues, and competitors will pack both floors of the legendary El Mocambo for one unforgettable night of live music and fierce friendly rivalry—all in support of CANFAR’s mission to end HIV in Canada.

This year’s AIDSBEAT is bigger, louder, and more collaborative than ever, with Supergroups bringing together all-star talent from across the city for a concert that fuels HIV research, expands access to testing and care, and supports the breakthroughs that move us closer to ending the HIV epidemic.

Pick your favourites. Bring your crew. Get your tickets now before they’re gone at canfar.com/aidsbeat.

Big thanks to our MOTLEY CREW of sponsors: venue partner The El Mocambo, champion sponsor Labatt Breweries of Canada, event sponsor Gowling WLG, People's Choice Award sponsor PwC Canada, band sponsors Davies, Torkin Manes, Cassels, Bloom Architects, and McCarthy Tétrault, spirits sponsor Maverick Distillery, wine sponsor Santa Margherita, liquor sponsor Fireball, photobooth sponsor Key Media, and CANFAR program partners BMO, TD, LCBO, and the P. Austin Family Foundation.

Congratulations to this year's CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards Winners!

CANFAR's CEO Dr. Paul Sandstrom was honoured to co-present the CAHR-CANFAR 2026 Excellence in Research Awards at the Canadian Association For HIV Research Conference Opening Ceremonies on April 23rd, 2026. These awards are bestowed annually to mid-career researchers who have achieved a track record of excellence and have demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of those living with HIV or who are more likely to contract HIV.

This year's award winners are:
Basic Sciences: Thomas Murooka, University of Manitoba
Clinical Sciences: Nadine Kronfli, McGill University
Epidemiology-Public Health: Zulma Rueda, University of Manitoba
Social Sciences: Alex McClelland, Carleton University
Community-Based Research: Surita Parashar, Simon Fraser University

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you so much for the important work you do. To learn more about CANFAR's research investments (including our upcoming 34th cycle of research grants), visit canfar.com/research/.

The lineup is here—and AIDSbeat 2026 is about to be louder than ever.

On Friday, June 5th, we’re taking over the legendary El Mocambo with Supergroups: all-star bands made up of talent from across Toronto’s top firms, coming together for one unforgettable night in support of CANFAR’s mission to end HIV in Canada.

First up:
• Vaughan Halen, last year's People's Choice Winner
• The Insecurities
• Motion to Shred
• Call to the Bar

Seven bands. Two floors. One mission: Amplify the Fight Against HIV.

Expect bold collaborations, huge performances, and a packed night of live music—all while raising critical funds for HIV research, testing, care, and community-led programs changing lives across Canada.

And we’re not done yet… stay tuned for the reveal of the next three bands coming soon.

Tickets are on sale now at CANFAR.com/aidsbeat — gather your crew and grab yours before they’re gone. Big thanks to our MOTLEY CREW of sponsors: venue partner The El Mocambo, champion sponsor Labatt Breweries of Canada, event sponsor Gowling WLG, People's Choice Award sponsor PwC Canada, band sponsors Davies, Torkin Manes, Cassels, Bloom Architects, and McCarthy Tétrault, spirits sponsor Maverick Distillery, and CANFAR program partners BMO, TD, LCBO, and the P. Austin Family Foundation.

CANFAR is proud to support the launch of Rapid TLC (Testing and Linkage to Care)—a new initiative led by REACH Nexus at St. Michael’s Hospital’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. This national program will bring rapid HIV and STBBI TLC directly into underserved communities across Canada. Last Thursday, CANFAR's CEO Paul Sandstrom and Board Chair Andy Pringle attended the launch alongside Lori-Ann Green-Walker, Executive Director of Women's Health in Women's Hands CHC a CANFAR-funded community partner implementing this initiative, with support from LCBO Spirit of Sustainability.

Using the GeneXpert rapid, mobile testing system, Rapid TLC delivers lab-quality results in under 90 minutes, helping to reduce barriers to TLC caused by distance, stigma, and delays in care—especially for communities overrepresented in HIV and STBBI cases.

This is what research in action looks like. Together, with the support of our partners, we’re expanding access to culturally safe, community-based care; closing gaps in health equity; and moving one step closer to ending the HIV epidemic in Canada.