Toronto Star
By Arbor Memorial Inc.
Updated: September 22nd, 2025
The legacy gap: why Canadians aren’t sharing their end-of-life wishes— even though they know they should… Survey shows disconnect between Canadians’ beliefs and end of life practices.
Most Canadians deeply value the concept of planning for the future. In fact, 94 per cent agree it’s important to share their end-of-life wishes with loved ones. Yet fewer than half have actually done so.
Arbor Memorial Inc.’s 2025 Legacy Council Survey highlights this striking disconnect between what Canadians believe and what they do.
While strong agreement around the importance of communicating one’s wishes has grown (66 per cent now strongly agree, up from 57 per cent in 2023), the number of people who’ve made or shared a plan has dipped slightly — from 50 per cent to 47 per cent. This underscores the fact that while people mean well, these crucial conversations and clear legacy planning frequently get postponed.
