One Voice Coalition

The One Voice Coalition was initiated in 2019 by the English-Speaking Catholic Council (ESCC) and Catholic Action Montreal (CAM) “to improve access to healthcare and decrease social isolation” for English-speaking seniors. Then, during the pandemic, the Coalition exploded in size and energy, as senior care came under siege. This was a time when information was urgently needed and not often available. There was a clear need to band together, try to make sense of the rapidly shifting landscape, and create “one voice” to demand upport.

After the pandemic, stewardship of the Coalition transitioned to Seniors Action Quebec in 2022, who then partnered with Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) to lead the process of collective reflection that generated the current statement of mission, principles and vision. The 2023/2024 collective reflection process made it clear that One Voice should not be structured and managed as a Seniors Action Quebec program. If it is to deliver on its potential, the Coalition must be co-created by participants “in a spirit of partnership and mutual responsibility and co-created by participants who

Seek to create the conditions for participation, commitment, self-organization and emergence of new possibilities.
Cultivate a culture of care and connection, taking shared responsibility not only for what happens, but for how it happens.
Take guidance from the mission, principles and vision in determining actions and evaluate how well we’re living up to our intentions.

Following on previous Annual Retreats, in March 2026, the One Voice Coalition (OVC) came together for a half-day in-person retreat, hosted by and at Seniors Action Quebec in Montreal, in collaboration with the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN).

The intention of the retreat was to “re-engage as a coalition within today's evolving landscape — deepening cohesion among our aligned organizations and sparking new possibilities for mutual support, collaborative work and new projects.”

At the 2026 Retreat, One Voice Coalition members diagnosed Quebec’s current and future external landscape and jointly determined priorities and pathways for impactful future collaboration.

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2026 Annual Retreat Report

Download the report