Sun Life was selected by Health Canada to administer the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), a federal program aiming to improve access to dental care for up to 9 million uninsured Canadians with household incomes under $90,000.
The project focused on enhancing the "my Sun Life" registration experience to support CDCP enrollment. Our goal was to deliver a secure, accessible onboarding journey that complied with federal regulations and served a wide range of users, many of whom were engaging with Sun Life for the first time.
Challenges & Objectives
In the early stages, Sun Life lacked clear details about the CDCP, and timelines were tight due to Health Canada’s phased rollout. The target user base was diverse, including older Canadians, first-time digital users, and those with low digital literacy.
The registration flow wasn't WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, didn’t include CDCP as a selectable product, and lacked clear guidance for CDCP members creating accounts. Confusion was amplified by inconsistent public messaging, shifting timelines, and the misconception that users needed an account to access benefits.
Progress was impacted by changing requirements, delayed alignment with oral health provider associations, long review cycles, and last-minute content and design requests—sometimes just before release—causing rework and delays.
Our objective was to close these gaps by ensuring compliance, simplifying communication, and delivering a clear and accessible registration experience that built user confidence.
Journey Designers’ roadmap for Sun Life’s role in the CDCP rollout.
Designing for Clarity & Access
As the lead UX Designer, I partnered with UX Writers, User Researchers, Developers, and Health Canada’s Accessibility Auditing team to improve the registration experience through:
• Updating content to reflect accurate CDCP information
• Adding CDCP as a selectable product in the registration flow
• Identifying and resolving 50+ accessibility gaps to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards
• Including step-by-step guidance for CDCP members through clear UI visuals and content
• Ensuring alignment with Sun Life’s tone and Health Canada’s regulatory messaging
These updates ensured a compliant, accessible, and user-friendly experience, inclusive to a diverse user base.
Sample of Accessibility Audit issues 1
Sample of Accessibility Audit issues 2
Establishing a Baseline
To assess the current-state experience, I conducted an unmoderated usability test with 15 participants using UserZoom. The study focused on task completion, comprehension, structure, and ease of navigation.
I observed user behavior, measured time on task, and evaluated the clarity of the registration flow. While the test was originally intended to include SUPR-Q scoring, last-minute changes to research mandates prevented the collection of that data.
Despite this, results showed that users understood the registration process and successfully completed key tasks with ease, validating the direction for upcoming UX enhancements.
Accommodating designs to unique limitations
Designing for CDCP registration came with several constraints around account eligibility and timing. Users couldn’t register if their email was already linked to another Sun Life product—common for those with workplace benefits, investments, or advisor-run accounts.
Additionally, many attempted to register using a different email than the one submitted in their CDCP application to Health Canada, which caused confusion and led to access issues.
During early 2025, we also had to account for timing, redirecting users who tried to register for CDCP before the official launch window in spring 2025, while still providing a clear path for general registration.
Start screen blocking CDCP registration before Spring 2025
Start screen with CDCP registration enabled
Email confirmation screen to proceed with registration
Email in use—CDCP users must use the email from their Health Canada application
To improve the registration experience end-to-end, I mapped out all possible user scenarios, identifying friction points and streamlining the flow by reducing clicks, inputs, and simplifying content. I also challenged legacy methods, advocating for the removal of unnecessary steps to improve usability.
Collaborating across business units, I navigated shared ownership of the experience—resolving details like product order on the selection page through careful negotiation. These decisions required balancing internal goals with Health Canada’s requirements for how CDCP should be positioned.
All Registration scenarios
Product selection page
Results, Reach, and Reflections
The early rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan has demonstrated major progress in both national adoption and experience improvements. The following data reflects performance as of mid-2025:
National Reach (as of May 23, 2025)
• 25,668 oral health providers enrolled (93% of all active providers in Canada)
• 4,074,981 approved applicants
• 2,000,722 members have received dental care through CDCP
• Over 6.8 million CDCP transactions processed (claims and estimates)
• CDCP now represents approximately 50% of Sun Life’s total dental claims volume
Platform Enhancements
• 50+ accessibility updates implemented across the registration flow
• CDCP accounted for 1% of all My Sun Life registrations in May and June (early adoption phase)
By streamlining flows, improving accessibility, and aligning with both internal teams and Health Canada, I enhanced the registration experience for CDCP members and general my Sun Life users. The result is a more accessible, intuitive experience that better supports users through an essential but complex entry into Sun Life’s digital ecosystem.