Growing old in Greater Montreal: Realities and barriers

Social isolation is one of the main threats as people age. Over the years, their friendship networks shrink and they have fewer opportunities to get out of the house. Add physical and financial limitations, and seniors’ social lives become very devitalized. The impacts are far from benign, as mental health often suffers from a lack of socialization.

According to a 2024 public health survey, nearly one in four seniors would have engaged in more social or recreational activities in the previous year. Women and younger seniors most often express this desire that comes up against concrete obstacles, such as a lack of knowledge of available resources, physical or mental health problems, social withdrawal, or a lack of finances.¹

The pandemic only made these problems worse. The same survey showed that one in five people aged 55 and over in Greater Montreal has often felt isolated since 2020, a feeling that is particularly noticeable among specific groups: 23% of women, 28% of people living alone, 26% of people living with functional limitations, and nearly half (46%) of seniors who have recently immigrated.¹

Although people want to grow old and stay in their own homes for as long as possible, doing so can become a complex affair due to losses of independence, poorly adapted homes, and the high cost of private seniors’ residences (PSR).

However, moving to a residence is very expensive, as the average cost of an apartment with services in Montreal is over $4,000 a month. In Laval and on the South Shore, these fees fluctuate around $2,250 for a unit without care but climb to $4,000 if medical support is provided.² These expenses put many seniors in a precarious financial situation.

Added to this is the worrying trend of PSR closures. In fact, between October 2023 and September 2024, 87 PSRs stopped operating in Quebec, forcing more than 1,400 seniors out of their units. In Greater Montreal, areas hit particularly hard were Montérégie (15 closures) and the east sector of the Island (11 closures), leaving more than 455 seniors without a home.³

Homelessness in Quebec is on the rise for all age groups, and seniors are no exception. In the Greater Montreal territory, they take up a growing share of these counts. Although the number of people aged 65 in this population was already a concern, the trend is even more salient when we add people aged 50 plus.

Between 2018 and 2022, there was a sharp rise in people aged 65 and over in a situation of homelessness: from 6.2% to 9.9% in Montreal, from 3% to 4.2% in Laval, and from 4.6% to 5.1% in Montérégie. These increases reveal a worrying phenomenon that more seniors are losing not just their homes but also their social networks and becoming very vulnerable in the process.⁴

The province has enacted an action plan to fight abuse, one of the few areas where special attention is paid to seniors from immigrant backgrounds, English-speaking seniors, and Indigenous seniors, with approaches adapted to their specific realities.

The role of family caregivers—a significant number of whom are also seniors—is also gaining traction as a government priority.

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); digital participation; and access to safe, adapted transport are other issues to consider.

Climate change is also making seniors more vulnerable.  Heat waves, extreme cold, and other climate hazards create more work for community agencies, which have to set up weather shelters and take preventive action to protect the health and safety of this population.