April 4, 2025

It’s upon us again. Spring is here, but that’s not all. The federal election is coming. April 28 is the date, so mark it on your calendar and get ready to vote. Your choices will affect the services you get.

Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for health services, but that’s not the whole story. Federal leadership and federal funding have a strong influence on the services the provinces and territories provide. Think about universal health insurance along with Canada-wide child care, dental care, and more recently (and still in the pipeline) pharmacare – all federal initiatives negotiated with the provinces and territories.

Care Watch promotes home and community services for older adults, so when we vote, we need to know what parties will do about those services. Promises are starting to appear, and more will be coming. We don’t endorse parties or candidates. Instead, we encourage you to ask questions so you can decide who deserves your vote.

Government doesn’t have a ministry or a minister for older adults.

Who will be looking out for us?

Here are some questions we are thinking of:

• How will you use the tax system to help older Canadians stay in their homes and communities? What about deductions for home care costs, credits for making homes safe, and benefits for unpaid caregivers?
• What will you do about housing for older adults? Home care and social supports can’t work for people who don’t have a decent place to live.
• How will you set Canada-wide standards for home care quality? Work has been done on standards for long-term care homes, but the standards haven’t yet been implemented. Now we need standards for home care. How will your party lead in establishing these standards? How will you enforce them and report on results? What will you personally do to make that happen?
• Will you use federal health transfers to provinces and territories to require that they provide home care? How will you enforce accountability, and what conditions will you set? What will you do if those conditions aren’t met?
• How will you insist that home and community care workers are treated fairly and equitably? Personal support workers in homes and communities earn less than any other health care workers, but without them the system can’t survive.
• What are your plans for a national strategy for older adults? We need a framework for developing, adopting, and acting on the policies and practices that benefit all older Canadians.

What can you do?

Listen to what candidates are telling you.

Ask questions. We’ve given you a start. You may have others of your own to add.

Ask, think, and then vote!

To find your riding, contact Elections Canada. Enter your postal code in the ‘My voter information’ box to find your federal electoral district. You can also check or update your voter information.