Make Ontario the best place in Canada to grow old: at home as long as possible, with care close by, and a real long-term care space when it's needed.
Expand home care and community-based options so seniors can age in place.
Support family caregivers and expand alternatives to institutional care.
Build the long-term care and assisted-living capacity Ontario needs.
The people growing old in Ontario now are the ones who built the province the rest of us inherited. They paid in their whole working lives on a simple understanding: that the province would be there when they needed it. Too often today, it is not.
The next ten years will bring more Ontarians over seventy-five than ever before into a care system that is already stretched thin. The people holding it together are not in government. They are daughters and sons and spouses providing care without pay, without training, and without much help, until they burn out.
This section keeps faith with the people who kept faith with us. It makes aging at home the normal path rather than the lucky one, builds the long-term care and assisted-living capacity the province will actually need, and finally puts money and support behind the family caregivers carrying most of the load. Growing old should not cost you your home, your dignity, or your place in the community you helped build.
Give seniors the home care they need to stay in their homes longer, with bundled care for those with complex needs. Make aging in place the default, not the exception.
Support the families and communities providing most of Ontario's seniors care. Expand alternatives to long-term care for the seniors who want options closer to home.
Build the long-term care and assisted-living spaces Ontario will need as the population ages. Set independent targets based on demographics and deliver against them.
| Goal | Lower | Upper |
|---|---|---|
| Total — No Seniors Left Behind | ($2.1B) | ($4.3B) |
| Age With Grace and In Place | ($500M) | ($1.8B) |
| Care You Deserve | ($600M) | ($1.0B) |
| Comfortable Care You Can Afford | ($1.0B) | ($1.5B) |
Net budgetary impact over the Ontario Budget 2026 baseline. Negative numbers represent net new provincial spending; positive numbers represent net savings or revenue.
Detail on how each cost or savings estimate was derived. All figures represent net budgetary impact over the Ontario Budget 2026 baseline.
| Idea | Lower | Upper | How it was estimated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expand home care capacity to serve more seniors every year. | ($500M) | ($1.5B) | Ontario spends $3.5B/yr on home care for ~700,000 seniors. Serving 100,000 more at the typical cost per senior is $500M-1.5B/yr, depending on how intensive each person's needs are. |
| Expand bundled home-care models for seniors with complex needs. | $0 | ($300M) | Bundled care saves money long-term but needs up to $300M upfront to set up integrated provider teams. Some cost overlaps with the home care line above, since complex-needs seniors may already be in the 100,000-more target. |
| Idea | Lower | Upper | How it was estimated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support alternatives to long-term and institutional care. | ($100M) | ($250M) | $100-250M funds pilots, zoning changes, and grants for retirement communities, co-housing, and garden suites, plus capital support for early adopters. Most savings come from keeping seniors out of LTC longer, shown as avoided cost in the Health section. |
| Create a caregiver credit and expand respite support. | ($500M) | ($750M) | Quebec's caregiver tax credit costs ~$200-300M/yr. A more generous Ontario version covering more caregivers, plus expanded respite, is $500-750M/yr. Tying eligibility to assessed care needs keeps support focused. |
| Idea | Lower | Upper | How it was estimated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add seniors care spaces across long-term care, assisted living, and other settings. | ($1.0B) | ($1.5B) | Ontario has committed ~$6.4B over four years for ~30,000 LTC spaces. A 50,000 target adds ~20,000 more. Each space costs $400,000-600,000 to build and $60,000-100,000/yr to run, both phasing in over the decade. |
Every dollar goes to work — with up to 75% back in tax credits.
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