The future of aging in Canada is digital

Canada’s health care system is approaching a pivotal moment. As the population ages and chronic disease becomes more prevalent, demand for care is rising faster than the system’s ability to respond. Workforce shortages, uneven access to primary care and growing pressure on hospitals are stretching the system in every direction. At the same time, family caregivers are shouldering even more responsibility, often without the tools or support they need. These pressures are no longer abstract policy challenges, they are being felt daily in emergency departments, long‑term care waitlists and family living rooms across the country.

Yet, Canadians are clear about what they want as they age: independence, dignity and the ability to remain at home for as long as it is safe to do so. They want this supported by technology that feels as intuitive as the digital services they use every day. The real challenge is not whether this future is desirable, but how we build a health system capable of delivering it.

Changing care expectations

A recent EY Canada Consumer Health Survey of Canadians aged 50 and over confirms what many policymakers and providers are hearing firsthand. Expectations are shifting toward aging in place. Three-quarters say they would participate in hospital-at-home programs. Seventy percent are willing to use digital tools that collect and share health data to enable real-time, remote support, and 86% are comfortable sharing their health data with providers.

These expectations reflect a broader shift in how Canadians interact with services. People now expect transparency, responsiveness and ease of use as a baseline. Consumers are used to seeing where things stand, whether it is a delivery or a service request, and they increasingly expect the same visibility in health care. They want to
know where their referral sits, how long the wait will be and what happens next. 

The demand for technology‑enabled aging is not about novelty. It is about maintaining independence, staying connected to care and avoiding unnecessary disruption to daily life.

The growing system strain

Despite these consumer preferences, the current care system remains difficult to navigate. EY’s research highlights persistent gaps in awareness of available services and access to these supports. More than half of Canadians rate their understanding of available care options as poor or fair, and nearly 80% rely on local providers to guide them. The system’s dependence on unpaid caregivers further exposes these gaps.
 

Data shows that more than one in five family caregivers provide over 31 hours of care per week, equivalent to fulltime employment. This level of intensity increases the risk of caregiver burnout and can place additional strain on hospitals, which often become the default entry point to the health system when appropriate caregiver respite supports are unavailable or hard to access.

From policy to real impact

Encouragingly, governments are beginning to respond. Provinces are investing more in home and community care, and federally, Bill S‑5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act, signals growing recognition that a digitally connected system is essential to modernized care.
 

We are headed in the right direction, but funding and legislation alone will not deliver transformation. Without interoperable data, integrated workflows and a clear strategy to support providers, patients and family caregivers, digital investments risk adding fragmentation rather than fixing it. Turning policy intent into real‑world impact now depends on how health system leaders act and where they focus next.

Where leadership must focus now

If we want a different aging future, it will come from harder leadership choices. An aging society cannot sustain a model that waits for issues and errors before intervening. It needs clearer direction on how to leverage prevention tools essential to maintaining independence and easing pressure on acute care. Leaders must address how fragmented and exhausting the system feels for Canadians left to navigate disconnected services across home, community and clinical settings. 

Simplifying and coordinating those pathways is central to delivering care that works. Further, digital integration must be treated as core infrastructure rather than an add‑on, because technology layered onto disconnected systems only deepens the divide. Interoperability is now a prerequisite for continuity, safety and trust as more care moves closer to home.

Redefining aging in Canada

Canada has an opportunity to shape aged care designed around what matters most to Canadians: independence, connection and everyday life. With the right leadership focus, technology can strengthen communities, support patients and family caregivers, and help Canadians stay well longer. It can do more than respond when care becomes urgent or emergent. Aging well in Canada is within reach if we choose to build the system that makes it possible.

Shannon MacDonald is an EY Canada Partner, Health Care Digital Solutions Leader.

The views expressed are those of the author(s). Canada Healthwatch publishes a range of perspectives and does not necessarily endorse the opinions presented.