The Canadian Palliative Care Education Group, a committee of the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians, carries out surveys from time to time on the status of palliative care education in Canadian medical schools. We describe the organization of the Canadian Palliative Care Education Group and report on a survey carried out in the 1996-97 academic year. Our data suggest that the emphasis on palliative care varies widely amongst the 16 Canadian medical schools, in concert with the availability of academic staff positions in palliative care. We conclude that the need for palliative care education is supported by rhetoric which remains to be matched by proportionate tangible investment.