Issue Summary social isolation

 Up to 24% of Canadian seniors experience social isolation, defined as having minimal meaningful contact with others. This is a growing public health concern with measurable impacts on health, emergency services, and long-term care systems.

Key risks increase with:
• Living alone
• Low income
• Being a newcomer or visible minority
• Hearing/vision loss or mobility changes
• Loss of spouse or major life transitions
• Lack of accessible transportation
• Ageism and stigma

Isolation is distinct from loneliness: loneliness is a feeling; isolation is an objective lack of connection with serious health consequences.

Why It Matters

Research shows that social isolation increases risks of dementia, depression, heart disease, stroke, and premature death, comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Isolated seniors are heavier users of emergency rooms, hospitals, and long-term care. Municipal environments, transportation, sidewalks, signage, benches, accessibility, and community programming, play a major role in preventing or reducing isolation.

Key evidence and sources:

1.   National Seniors Council – Report on Social Isolation
https://www.canada.ca/en/national-seniors-council.html

2.   World Health Organization – Age-Friendly Communities Framework
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241547307

3.   Statistics Canada – Social Isolation in Seniors
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca
(Search: "Social isolation of older adults - StatCan")

4.   Age-Friendly Communities Framework (World Health Organization)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241547307

5.   Public Health Agency of Canada – Age-Friendly in Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/aging-seniors.html

6.   Research on Health Impacts of Isolation (Holt-Lunstad et al.)
Summary accessible via the National Institute on Aging:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/social-isolation-loneliness-older-people-pose-health-risks

 

Social isolation is not inevitable. It is reversible.

Rebuilding Connection for Seniors in Our Community 2

But communities must be designed, and redesigned, to support engagement at every age and ability.

Around the country, municipalities are doing this through the Age-Friendly Communities framework, endorsed by the World Health Organization and adopted by many Canadian cities. The framework is simple: create environments where seniors can participate fully, safely, and with dignity.

What does this look like?

It looks like safer crosswalks with longer signal times.

• Benches placed where people actually walk.
• Clear signage that helps those with cognitive changes.
• Bus stops with seating and shelter.
• Programs in multiple languages.
• Technology support that doesn’t assume everyone learns the same way.
• And community events where seniors participate as leaders, not just as attendees.

These are not expensive changes, but they are transformative ones.

Every improvement in accessibility, transportation, communication, or program design opens another door to connection.

No single organization can solve social isolation alone. But when we coordinate our efforts, transportation, recreation, housing, public safety, libraries, health partners, we create a safety net strong enough to keep people connected before isolation takes hold.

Improve the physical and social environments that shape senior participation, including accessible pathways, seating, sound systems in community halls, age-friendly communications, and programming specifically designed for those experiencing life transitions such as bereavement, retirement, or changes in health.

Small improvements create big results.

• ·        A single bench can turn an impossible walk into a possible one.
• ·        A volunteer driver program can reopen a social circle.
• ·        A friendly phone call can keep someone grounded after a major loss.

Our community already cares deeply about seniors. What we need now is a more coordinated, more intentional approach, and a clear recognition that this work benefits everyone.

•         When seniors stay socially connected, they stay healthier.
•         When they stay healthier, they delay or prevent costly health crises.
•         When they stay engaged, they volunteer, mentor, and strengthen community life.

·        A connected senior population is not just a social good, it is a community asset.

•         Imagine our city one year from now if we choose to lead boldly on this issue.
•         Imagine seniors who feel noticed and valued.
•         Imagine neighbourhoods where benches and bus stops invite, rather than exclude.
•         Imagine programs co-designed with seniors from every background.
  
•     Imagine an age-friendly standard woven into every municipal decision.
•     Imagine an age-friendly standard woven into every municipal decision.

Social isolation is a challenge we can solve, but only if we choose to work together with clarity, compassion, and commitment.

Rebuilding Connection for Seniors in Our Community 1

I’d like to address an issue that impacts not only seniors, but the health, resilience, and vibrancy of our entire community: social isolation among older adults.

We often think of social isolation as a personal matter, someone becoming quiet, or no longer participating. But across Canada, research shows it is far more than that. It is a public health issue, a community design issue, and a policy issue. And it is one that every municipality must now treat with urgency.

Up to 24% of Canadian seniors, that’s nearly 1 in 4, are socially isolated. Not lonely; isolated. That distinction matters. Loneliness is how people feel. Isolation is the lack of meaningful connection with others. It is a measurable condition, and it has measurable consequences.

Social isolation increases the risk of premature death, dementia, heart disease, stroke, and depression. Research compares the health impact to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It also increases emergency room visits, hospital stays, and long-term care placements, placing higher pressures on healthcare systems, caregivers, and municipal programs.

But even more important than statistics are the stories behind them.

Many older adults in our city begin to withdraw after major life transitions, retirement, losing a spouse, or health changes that make mobility difficult. Others lose their social circle when adult children move away, or when transportation becomes too challenging. And some face additional barriers because they are newcomers, live on a low income, or belong to communities that experience discrimination.

These changes rarely happen all at once. They add up slowly, until the senior who once attended events, volunteered, or walked in the neighbourhood stops showing up entirely.

And when a senior disappears, it’s often months before someone realizes they’re gone.

This is where municipalities play a critical role.

A Connected Canada, Built One Community at a Time

 Social isolation is a national issue, but the real change happens locally, street by street, program by program. Canada has strong foundations in the National Seniors Council and Age-Friendly initiatives. What we need now is consistent, coordinated action.

Imagine neighbourhoods with benches, accessible transportation, multilingual programs, and real technology support. Imagine every senior feeling seen and valued.

This year, consider forming a “Seniors Connection Taskforce” with local partners. Choose one measurable step and commit to it. Progress doesn’t have to be dramatic to be meaningful. When we work together, belonging grows.