Thinking in Public
Seniors are going to require a nanny. People born in the 80s and 90s can't afford a seniors home unless the government pays for it.
The numbers: 8.1 million Canadians were 65 or older on July 1, 2025, 19.5% of the population and up 3.4% in a year. Private assisted living in British Columbia costs $58,600 a year with one hour of personal assistance and no subsidy, about $4,900 a month. In subsidized assisted living the senior pays 70% of after-tax income, an average of $1,468 a month in 2022.
I think the government pays for nannies to go to them. That is partly true. The word is home support. A health authority assesses the senior, then pays a care worker to help with bathing, dressing, toileting, meals and moving around. The senior pays a daily rate based on income, and pays nothing at all on the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Sixty-five percent of clients get it free.
The catch is hours. In 2021 and 2022, 40,681 BC seniors got almost nine million hours, about 219 hours a year each, which is a little over half an hour a day. A single senior on $29,000 who wants one hour of home support every day pays about $8,900 a year, 31% of their income.
There is a second program, Choice in Supports for Independent Living. The health authority gives the money to the person, who hires and manages their own worker. It is for adults with physical disabilities and high care needs, so it covers only some seniors.
The service to start is a local one: home visits for seniors, booked by the hour, for the hours the public system does not cover.