• policy
• Future Us
• 2025

A CANADA FOR ALL AGES:  

CNPEA calls for action to make aging a safe and fulfilling experience in Canada 

The Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA) is urging all political parties to make the well-being and safety of older adults a priority of their election platforms. 

CNPEA calls on all political parties to take a stand against discrimination, violence and neglect facing older people. These forms of violence, coercion, and financial exploitation have a devastating impact on our families, our communities, our healthcare system and our economy.

1 in 10 older people experience mistreatment each year.
A recent Canadian study estimates that 1 in 10 older adults experiences abuse or neglect each year. This is likely a low estimate, due to underreporting, and fragmented or inconsistent monitoring across the legal, health, and social systems. Financial abuse, fraud and exploitation are among the most common forms, representing enormous financial losses. 

Elder abuse is not an isolated, individual issue that can be chalked up to a few “bad apples”, it is a wide-spread, systemic issue with deep connections to ageism, ableism, gender-based violence, and economic disparity. Elder abuse rates have been on the rise since the pandemic. Across communities, older people are trapped in abusive situations, feeling ashamed and isolated. They often feel unable to reach out for help or are faced with insufficient, inadequate support services. This is an ongoing crisis that affects us all. We all deserve to live free from abuse, at every stage of our lives. CNPEA is calling on our leaders to support and enact a comprehensive, meaningful plan to tackle ageism, mistreatment and neglect against older people and help us all age with safety, dignity and meaning.

CNPEA’s Calls to Action: 

In Future Us, a Roadmap to Elder Abuse Prevention in Canada, CNPEA outlined what a national action plan on elder abuse and neglect prevention could look like, articulated over three key priorities:

• Prioritize elder abuse prevention in every community.
• Establish and support elder abuse prevention networks at local, regional and national levels. 
• Teach everyone to recognize warning signs of abuse and neglect, how to respond safely and effectively and where to refer in the community to find help.

Now we call on our leaders to commit to the following actions to support safe and healthy aging in Canada:

1. Develop stronger legal protections & accountability 

• Establish new offences and penalties in the Criminal Code related to elder abuse and amend existing legislation to protect all older adults;
• Develop strategies to better safeguard seniors from fraud and financial scams;
• Increase resources to public safety agencies to support the prosecution of repeat offenders targeting older adults, particularly in cases of fraud and financial abuse;
• Improve reporting mechanisms and standardized data collection on mistreatment of older adults.
• Establish a Federal Seniors’ Advocate Office.
  
  

2. Create a comprehensive plan to tackle ageism, elder abuse and neglect and address the needs and rights of older people in Canada.

• Reinstate a Minister to look after the seniors’ portfolio and expand the position to that of Minister for Older Adults and Intergenerational Equity; 
• Develop and implement a national elder abuse prevention strategy;
• Incorporate approaches based on the human rights of older adults and people living with a disability into service delivery policies and legal frameworks; 
• Support the development of an U.N. Convention on the Rights of Older People.
  
  

3. Place the focus on wide public education and awareness.

• Develop national multimedia campaigns on elder abuse and ageism;
• Mandate elder abuse and ageism training (using the Public Health Agency of Canada’s trauma and violence-informed principles) for police officers, first responders, health care professionals, and other professionals who serve older people in any capacity;
• Educate public servants in all departments on elder abuse and ageism.
  
  

4. Invest in the elder abuse prevention infrastructure

• Sustained funding for elder abuse prevention networks and response organizations will strengthen networks and improve coordinated community response, facilitating help-seeking process and improving data collection at the same time.
• Fund 'Community Seniors' Navigators to support local Elder Abuse Prevention Networks (volunteer-based networks) in outreach, education, and navigation of community safety, health and legal services. 
• Leverage expertise of existing organizations like CNPEA to develop effective education, prevention and intervention strategies.
  
  

Noone should be scared to grow older. The cycle of abuse can be stopped.

Our next federal government must recognize that the mistreatment of older people is a quiet epidemic that demands urgent action. Older people currently represent one fifth of our country’s population, one fourth by 2030. They are a demographically significant and politically active group that requires our leaders’ attention. We will be closely monitoring candidates’ platforms this coming election and we will be ready to engage with each of them to ensure that elder abuse prevention and the well-being of older people are prioritized.

For Media inquiries or to learn more, contact:
Benedicte Schoepflin, Executive Director, CNPEA