Check It Out: What it’s really like to be a senior in Canada

By Joan Janzen

Someone once said, when a man retires, his wife gets twice the husband but only half the income. Unfortunately, in Canada, it might be far less than half the income.

Chris Baker, host of the online podcast Baked on Things, reported on the following topic that’s not being covered in Canada: what it’s like to be a senior in Canada. Many of his listeners were urging him to address this topic. He was speaking about seniors who worked their entire lives paying taxes, believing the government’s advice “to work hard and after 40 years trust the system,” Chris noted.

Eligible Canadian seniors receive Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS); however, not everyone qualifies for OAS and GIS. The maximum amount a senior can receive is equivalent to someone working a full-time job at minimum wage. But most Canadians aren’t eligible to receive the maximum amount.

Consequently, they receive about two-thirds or less of what a full-time minimum-wage earner would take home in a month. And, like the wage earner who pays taxes on their income, seniors also pay taxes on CPP.

But the increased number of seniors visiting food banks is showing that the system isn’t working.

Thirty years ago, seniors were managing to make ends meet. In 1990, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $531 a month. In 2024, that same apartment would be $1,447 a month. In 1990, $100 had the same purchasing power as $25 in 2025.

“The system was designed for a world where housing was actually affordable, and that world is long gone,” Chris said. And low rental housing, where rent is 30 percent of a senior’s income, is in short supply, especially in Canadian cities.

If a senior is mortgage-free, they’re finding the cost of utilities, insurance, transportation, and property taxes takes up most of their retirement income, with little remaining for groceries. After Chris Baker’s show aired, there were plenty of seniors who posted comments.

“I am one of those seniors, and if it was not for my son helping me with my mortgage, I would be homeless,” read one of the comments. “I definitely don’t have much money left for food.”

Another senior wrote, “I’m 73 and live alone. CPP, OAS, and GIS equal $2,076. Rent in my one-bedroom apartment is $1,600. Insurance, internet, phone, food, and hydro take up the rest. The saving grace is I’m healthy and don’t have to pay for any prescription drugs.”

The number of similar comments was endless. Some were surviving by visiting the food bank and collecting bottles. “I’m living with my adult daughter and her husband because the land lease on my mobile home became so high that I couldn’t afford to stay there anymore,” a senior explained.

This is a topic that is not being discussed, which seniors also find frustrating. “I’m 71 and fear I have become invisible. So I identify as invisible. My pronouns are ‘who’ and ‘what’,” a senior wrote. “Yes, I am here; you just didn’t see me.”

Seniors who reside in smaller rural villages and towns have the advantage of being slightly more visible to the general public. It’s an opportunity for schools to have students visit seniors, for charitable organizations to lend them a helping hand, and for food distribution organizations to make seniors a priority.

“What would it look like if Canada actually cared about its seniors?” Chris asked. In the comments, someone suggested there be less government and more community involvement. Our Hutterite neighbours are an excellent example of community involvement.

Their community considers it a privilege to look after the sick and elderly and give their seniors special status. Family come in to do their household chores, bring them food, and provide care on a rotational basis. Their seniors don’t need to downsize when their spouse dies or move to a nursing home. From cradle to grave, they provide their members with homes, food, medical, dental, and senior care.

Unlike the Hutterite communities, many seniors have children who aren’t able to help them out financially or live in other provinces or countries. There are many seniors who don’t have children or have fractured families, which presents even more challenges.

Another person suggested, “We need immigration to return to the way it was when you had to have a sponsor, somewhere to stay, and a skill we needed so you could come to Canada.”

Some people’s comments revealed their frustration. “It is time for seniors in Canada to identify as a new immigrant so they can receive free healthcare and lodging,” one comment read. “Seniors have paid taxes all their lives, yet someone from another country is receiving more financial assistance than seniors.”

Chris suggested the government boost the GIS so it pulls seniors from the poverty line after rent is paid. He also mentioned the addition of tax credits that reflect caregiving support for family members who take time from work to care for their parents, and expansion of home care so seniors can stay in their homes longer.

“If you’re over 65, you’re living this in real time. None of this is news for you. You’ve done the math,” Chris said. “Everyone under the age of 65 understands this is not about them. But it is the pilot episode of your future.”

As he closed his show, he ended with this advice: “Next time a politician is speaking to a bunch of seniors, ask them why so many of the people who built this country with their tax dollars are standing in food bank lines, selling their houses, and rationing their pills.”

The next time you encounter a senior, remember to offer them a smile, a kind greeting, and hold the door while they maneuver a walker through the doorway. Let them know they’re vital members of our communities and not invisible.