ABSTRACT
Canada is an advanced industrial country stretching from the northern border of the United States to the Arctic Ocean. Geographically the second largest country in the world but somewhat sparsely populated with about 28 million citizens, Canada has a heavily decentralized political system in which the federal government shares power with ten provinces and two territories. The first case of AIDS in Canada was reported to the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control (LCDC) of the Department of Health and Welfare (now known as Health Canada) in February 1982, at which time the national AIDS Case Reporting and Surveillance System (ACRSS) was initiated. A retrospective evaluation of health records revealed that the first AIDS case in Canada was diagnosed in 1979.
