Tribute to Dr Balfour Mount, pioneer of palliative care (1939 - 2025)

We honour the memory of Dr Balfour Mount, Canada’s founding father of palliative care, who established the world’s first Palliative Care Unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal in 1975, and coined the very term ‘palliative care’. His pioneering vision transformed how the world supports people at the end of life, combining compassion with medical excellence and shaping care in every corner of the globe.

Dr Mount’s influence extended far beyond his home country. He was the founding Director of the Royal Victoria Hospital Palliative Care Service, Palliative Care McGill, and the McGill Programs in Integrated Whole Person Care. He also served as the founding President of the Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine, and as the Eric M. Flanders Emeritus Professor of Palliative Care at McGill University.

In recognition of his contributions, Dr Mount was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1985 and promoted to Officer in 2003, as well as being named an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1988.

Dr Mount died in the very unit named to honour his profound contribution - the Balfour Mount Palliative Care Unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.

Professor Max Watson, Director of Project ECHO at Hospice UK said:

“He named what love does at the edge of life - palliative care, a grace in suffering’s shadow. Now he rests, having taught us how to walk gently where pain and peace meet.”

Hospice UK joins the global palliative care community in expressing our gratitude for Dr Mount’s extraordinary legacy, which continues to shape the care, comfort and dignity offered to people at the end of life.