‘Going backwards’: Advocate urges action on services for B.C. seniors

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s aging population is set to soar over the next decade, and some services for them are falling short and “going backwards,” BC Seniors Advocate Dan Levitt says.

He’s urging the provincial government to brace for a wave of increasing demand, after releasing a new report containing “startling data that should be a call to action for governments, communities, service providers, seniors and loved ones.” 

Levitt’s office released its “Monitoring Seniors Services 2025” report Thursday. It outlines gains in some areas — such as the Better At Home support program and upping rent subsidies for low-income seniors — but serious shortfalls in others. 

“Despite these gains, we are struggling to provide adequate services today and are not yet prepared for the challenges of the future,” the report says. “Not only are there large gaps in services now, but we are failing to plan how we will deliver more care in the next decade.

The shortfalls, the report says, will burden family members and health care providers because of “the unmet need that everyone saw coming.” 

Levitt told reporters at a news conference Thursday that wait times have increased 61 per cent for knee procedures and 72 per cent for hip replacements in the last six years, even as more of the surgeries are completed. 

Levitt said most of those procedures aren’t performed within federal benchmark timelines, warning that surgical delays have “disproportionate and serious effects” on people 65 and older. 

He said low-income seniors receiving one hour a day of home support care in B.C. face costs topping $9,000 a year, while such services are free in provinces such as Alberta and Ontario. 

Levitt said a lack of capacity in long-term care homes is costing the province “tens of millions of dollars,” with seniors spending more time in hospitals on wait-lists for long-term care beds. 

Growing need for subsidized housing has “worsened each year,” Levitt said, with 13,000 people approved for units, a 52 per cent increase since 2019. 

He said only seven per cent of those approved received a unit, meaning 93 per cent of approved applicants did not receive the space they need. 

“Half of the approved applicants have been waiting for over two years and nearly 20 per cent have waited for more than five years,” Levitt said. “So again, we’re not keeping pace with growth. We’re actually falling further behind.” 

The report said calls to the province’s seniors abuse and information line have increased nearly 40 per cent since 2019, with those reporting “abuse specifically” are up more than 70 per cent. 

The report says reports of violent offences against seniors made to the B.C. RCMP increased 28 per cent since 2019, and financial fraud reports made to Vancouver police increased by 65 per cent. 

Levitt said that increase is “especially worrisome because so many of these cases go unreported.” 

He urged the provincial government to come up with an “action-oriented, measurable, cross-ministerial seniors plan.”

“This plan must outline how the province will meet the growing needs of the seniors population,” he said. “It’s clear from the data we’ve heard today that we’re not even maintaining the same level services. In fact, we’re actually going backwards.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2026.