Prepared by Laura Kadowaki, Barbara McMillan, and Kahir Lalji (United Way British Columbia) for the Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Forum of Ministers Responsible for Seniors.
As a part of the FPT Seniors Forum’s work, feedback was sought from Canadians to better understand the impacts of ageism at the individual level, and at the community level. Between September and November 2022 a total of 8 FPT Seniors Forum-led roundtable consultations and 17 stakeholder-led consultations were hosted across Canada, providing participants with an opportunity to discuss ageism. This “What We Heard” report summarizes input received from the FPT Seniors Forum led roundtable consultations and stakeholder-led consultations and the ageism questionnaire. This input will inform a subsequent Policy Options Report, to be submitted to FPT Ministers for their consideration, that will propose approaches, initiatives, and strategies to address ageism in Canada.
In the ageism questionnaire, respondents were asked whether they had ever experienced ageism themselves. Approximately half (48.4%) of respondents responded yes. The most common settings in which respondents reported having experienced or seen ageism were public settings, workplace settings, and health care settings. Furthermore, over two-thirds of questionnaire respondents (69.9%) believed that ageism has increased in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Themes explored in the consultations:
- employment
- health and health care
- social inclusion
- safety and security
- media and social media
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada
