As we know, the Canadian population is aging quite rapidly. By 2020, one out of every five people in most provinces will be above the age of 65. Compare that figure to today’s, in which close to one out of ten people are seniors. Furthermore, not only will their be more senior citizens in Canada, they will be older than ever before. Because life expectancy is increasing, the proportion of older seniors (80 years and older) will more than triple by 2056 from one in thirty to one in ten.
Who will take care of all these aging baby boomers? In some cases, seniors will move to long term care facilities. In other cases, they will stay in their homes for quite some time, getting help from a home health provider or similar service. But for most Canadians, the tradition of children looking after their aging parents remains the most likely option for these seniors.
Who are Canada’s Caregivers?
Over 2.5 million Canadians who are 45 years or older are the primary caregiver for an elder or senior. About 75% of all caregivers are between the ages of 45 and 64. The remaining 25% of caregivers are seniors themselves – 16% are younger seniors between 65 and 74, while 8% of caregivers are 75 and older. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of these caregivers are women – about 60%. While most Canadians are caring for close family members (see below), a third of caregivers are caring for a friend, an extended family member, or a neighbor.
Who is Cared for in Canada?
Most Canadian caregivers are caring for an aging family member; 70% of all caregivers care for family. Of these family members, 60% of them are elderly parents or parent-in-laws. A minority of caregivers (less than 10%) provide care for their spouse, but some researchers suspect this number may actually be higher, because caregivers tend to under report caring for spouses. In particular, aging wives tend to care for aging husbands but do not report it as caregiving.
Because men tend to die at a younger age than women, the majority of elders receiving long term care from a caregiver are women. In particular, the most common situation for a caregiver in Canada is to care for an elderly mother or mother-in-law.
As Canadians age, long term caregiving will be more and more common. As caregivers pay their own toll of exhaustion and emotional hardship in caring for their elderly loved ones, Canadians should start planning now for how they plan to provide care for their aging relatives and friends.
Tags: aging trends, caregiving, Elder Care, long term care
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