Aging Population Our Great Challenge and Opportunity

By 2035, Canada will be considered a “super-aged” country with one in four Canadians older than 65 years. While this has significant consequences for our workforce, it also has big repercussions for our health and social systems.

Seniors account for almost 44 per cent of provincial and territorial health-care budgets and unpaid care provision costs Canada an estimated $1.3 billion in productivity losses each year.

The challenges of aging and managing age-related chronic diseases can compromise an individual’s independence, reduce their quality of life, stress health-care and social systems, and force many older Canadians who would rather age in place into long-term care.

Canada already has a disproportionately high rate of older adults living in long-term care, yet the need is still not being met and demand is expected to grow.

It is not economically feasible to continue to build and staff long-term-care homes in response to an aging population, nor is institutionalization what older Canadians want.

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