Key Tips Discussed in This Blog
- Long-term care access varies across Canada, with provincial systems experiencing different capacity pressures and waiting periods.
- Safety needs can change while a senior is waiting, making regular reviews of mobility, daily activities, health needs, and the home environment important.
- Caregiver planning is part of home safety, including knowing who can provide support, keeping health information current, and preparing for periods when the senior may be alone.
- Multiple supports may be needed while aging at home, with home care, community services, safety modifications, and medical alert systems serving different roles rather than any one solution replacing long-term care.
For many Canadian families, moving a loved one into long-term care is not an immediate transition. Long-term care is delivered through provincial and territorial systems, which means eligibility, availability and wait times vary depending on where a senior lives.
At the national level, Statistics Canada measures access to long-term care in part by the number of publicly funded long-term care beds available per 1,000 people aged 75 and older. Statistics Canada describes this as a high-level measure of capacity and notes that other aspects of access—including timeliness, affordability and geographic accessibility—also matter.
For seniors waiting for long-term care, those questions of access can have an immediate impact on daily life. A person may continue living at home even as mobility, health, or personal care needs change. Families may also take on more caregiving responsibilities while they wait.
During this period, regularly reassessing the home, coordinating available supports, and ensuring a senior can access help when needed can support both safety and independence.
Why Long-Term Care Waitlists Are Growing
There is no single long-term care waitlist in Canada. Each province operates its own system, and provincial data shows that the scale and nature of the challenge vary across the country.
British Columbia
In British Columbia, the Office of the Seniors Advocate’s 2025 report on growing demand for long-term care found that the number of people waiting for publicly subsidized long-term care rose from 2,381 in 2016 to 7,212 in 2025. Over roughly the same period, the number of publicly subsidized beds increased much more slowly. The rate of beds per 1,000 people aged 75 and older declined from 77 in 2015/16 to 58 in 2024/25.
The B.C. Seniors Advocate identifies several factors behind longer waits, including a growing older population, bed supply that has not kept pace with that growth, and gaps in alternatives such as home support, assisted living and respite services.
Ontario
Ontario faces its own capacity pressures. The Ontario Long Term Care Association reports that nearly 50,000 people in Ontario are currently waiting for long-term care and that half of people entering long-term care wait at least 165 days.
Quebec
Quebec is also preparing for increased demand for seniors’ support. An Aviseo analysis of support needs among older adults in Quebec projects substantial growth in the number of older Quebecers requiring support over the coming decade. This includes increasing demand for services delivered where older adults live, not only in long-term care settings.
Together, these provincial examples point to an important reality: increasing long-term care capacity is only part of the challenge. The availability of home care, respite, assisted living and other community supports can also affect how seniors and families manage before a placement becomes available.
What Families Can Do While Waiting
Families cannot control when a long-term care bed becomes available, but they can regularly review whether the current care arrangement continues to meet the senior’s needs.
That is particularly important because a waiting period may last for months, during which mobility, cognition, medication needs, or ability to complete daily activities can change.
A caregiver plan can include:
- Identifying who is coordinating the senior’s care and who can step in if that person is unavailable
- Keeping family, healthcare provider and home-care contact information current
- Maintaining an up-to-date list of medications and important health information
- Asking the appropriate provincial or regional care coordinator about home care, respite and community services available during the wait
- Reviewing whether the senior can safely manage bathing, dressing, toileting, meals and transfers
- Planning for periods when the senior will be home alone
- Monitoring meaningful changes in mobility, cognition or overall health
- Knowing who to contact if the current home arrangement is no longer meeting the senior’s needs
- Reviewing the plan periodically rather than assuming it will remain appropriate until placement
Caregiver well-being also belongs in this plan—the B.C. Seniors Advocate surveyed more than 900 family caregivers supporting someone who was waiting for, or had recently entered, long-term care. Almost 70% said they spent more than 20 hours each week providing care, and caregivers reported an average of 63 hours per week. The report also documented high levels of tiredness, anxiety, and overwhelm.
Families navigating a demanding caregiving period may find our guide to caregiver burnout and stress useful. Our caregiver’s guide to communicating with healthcare providers also covers ways to prepare for conversations about changing health and care needs.
Safety Risks for Seniors Waiting at Home
A home that worked well for a senior several years ago may no longer suit changing mobility, balance, vision, or cognitive needs.
Rather than waiting for an accident to reveal a problem, families can periodically look at how the senior actually moves through and uses the home.
Home Safety Checklist
| ☐ Keep frequently used walking paths clear of clutter and loose objects
☐ Check bathrooms for secure grab bars and non-slip surfaces ☐ Make sure hallways, entrances, bathrooms and stairs are well lit ☐ Keep commonly used items within easy reach ☐ Review whether mobility aids are being used safely and consistently ☐ Make sure medications can be organized and managed appropriately ☐ Consider how the senior would summon help from different areas of the home ☐ Reassess the environment after a fall or meaningful change in mobility or health |
The needs of seniors waiting for long-term care can already be substantial. In B.C., for example, the Seniors Advocate describes long-term care as serving people who require 24-hour nursing supervision and whose needs cannot adequately be managed in their current home environment with available resources. Family caregivers awaiting placement may be assisting with mobility, transfers, dressing, toileting, eating, and other essential activities.
Safety planning should not be about unnecessarily limiting what a senior does. The goal is to adapt support as circumstances change so that independence can be protected wherever it is safe to do so.
Our guide to aging in place and senior safety covers additional ways families can think about the home environment, while our fall prevention tips for older adults offer practical ideas for addressing common hazards.
Tools That Support Aging at Home
No individual service or piece of equipment can recreate the 24-hour support available in long-term care. But while a senior is waiting at home, different resources may work together as part of a broader care plan.
Depending on local availability and individual needs, these can include home care services, adult day programs, respite care, mobility aids, bathroom safety equipment, medication management tools, meal or transportation services, and medical alert systems.
B.C.’s experience illustrates why that broader continuum matters. Its Seniors Advocate report identifies home support, assisted living, adult day programs and respite care as important alternatives and supports around long-term care. The report also found that about 60% of clients admitted to long-term care had not received publicly subsidized home support within the 90 days before admission.
Families should not assume that adding more tools automatically makes every home situation safe. When needs increase significantly, healthcare professionals and the appropriate care coordinator should be involved in determining whether the existing arrangement remains appropriate.
For a broader look at supports that may help at home, see our guide to home healthcare solutions for seniors in Canada.
How Medical Alert Systems Can Help
A medical alert system can be part of a plan for aging at home safely, particularly when a senior spends time alone or may have difficulty reaching a telephone after a fall or other emergency.
At Lifeline Canada, our medical alert systems give users a wearable way to access trained response support. Our HomeSafe medical alert systems are designed for support around the home, while our On the Go options are designed for seniors who also want access to support away from home.
Depending on the Lifeline service, fall detection may provide another way to trigger an alert. Automatic fall detection cannot detect every fall, so users should press their help button whenever they are able.
A medical alert system does not replace home care, personal support or long-term care. It cannot assist with dressing, medication administration, transfers or other daily care activities. Its role is different: providing a way to reach response support when assistance is needed.
That can be particularly valuable during periods when a family caregiver cannot be physically present. It does not remove the caregiver from the plan; instead, it provides another layer of support.
Families comparing options can also read our guide to choosing the right medical alert system for seniors.
Supporting Safety While Circumstances Change
Waiting for long-term care can be an uncertain period for both seniors and caregivers. The care plan should not remain static while health, mobility and family circumstances continue to change.
Regular safety reviews, appropriate home and community services, caregiver planning and tools that keep access to help close at hand can all contribute to a safer waiting period.
At Lifeline Canada, our focus is on helping seniors maintain as much independence as their circumstances safely allow. For families navigating the transition toward long-term care, having the right supports in place can help make the time at home safer and more manageable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long are long-term care waitlists in Canada?
There is no single Canadian wait time. Long-term care is administered provincially and territorially, and waiting periods can also vary within a province according to factors such as care needs, location and placement preferences. Statistics Canada therefore uses publicly funded beds per 1,000 people aged 75 and older as a high-level measure of availability while recognizing that timeliness is another important aspect of access.
What can families do while a senior waits for long-term care?
Regularly review the senior’s care and safety needs, investigate available home and community supports, keep healthcare information current, and plan for periods when the senior is alone. Significant changes in health, cognition, or ability to perform daily activities should be raised with the appropriate healthcare or care-coordination professional.
Can a medical alert system replace home care?
No. A medical alert system provides access to response support; it does not perform personal care, mobility assistance, medication administration, or the other services a home-care professional may provide.
What if it is no longer safe for a senior to remain at home?
Families should contact the senior’s healthcare provider or the appropriate provincial or regional care coordinator when needs change substantially, or the existing care arrangement no longer appears adequate. Immediate safety or medical emergencies require appropriate emergency assistance.
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