Silas: Canada needs a shift in our approach to seniors’ care
October 16, 2026 (Winnipeg, MB) – Solutions to improve seniors’ care were the focus of today’s policy briefing between Canada’s union nurses and federal and provincial health ministers.
“Canada is long overdue on implementing a national seniors’ care strategy that puts older Canadians first. The COVID-19 pandemic was a wakeup call to the urgent need to reform seniors’ care, but too little has been done in the last six years to improve it,” explained CFNU President Linda Silas. “Nurses and health care workers are stretched too thinly, and Canada’s population is aging. It’s time to act. A robust national plan would ensure Canada’s seniors have access to the care they need, while reducing the impact on the rest of the public health care system.”
Silas emphasized the importance of a pan-Canadian health human resources plan to help address staffing challenges. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported over 3 million overtime hours clocked by long-term care workers over a one-year period – the equivalent of 1,500 full-time care providers.
At the meeting, health ministers received CFNU’s newly published report, Healthy aging, dignified care, sharing lessons from seniors’ care in Denmark around person-centred care, staffing standards, prevention and rehabilitation programs, and memory care. Ministers also heard directly from Dr. Samir Sinha, geriatrician and expert in the care of older Canadians, about the important role that home and community care should have in the country’s health care systems.
“Canada needs a shift in our approach to seniors’ care that prioritizes aging in the right place. Healthy aging starts at home,” said Silas. “At the same time, nurses in long-term care facilities report working chronically over capacity, and they report the highest rates of violence. We need to support our seniors and our long-term care workers with strong legislation that enforces mandatory quality standards and dedicated long-term funding.”
The CFNU is calling for a national seniors’ care strategy that prioritizes care close to home and aging in the optimal place, mandatory standards for staffing seniors-focused health services, proactive disease prevention and rehabilitation programs, pay parity for workers, and increased funding and cohesive frameworks to enable nurses and other health care workers to deliver high-quality comprehensive care.
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The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing 250,000 frontline unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care – from home care and LTC to community and acute care – and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.
For more information, please contact Adella Khan, media@nursesunions.ca, 613‑807‑2942.