By The Canadian Press

New seniors advocate report shows growing gap in B.C. long-term care demand, capacity

Jan 27, 2026 | 10:54 AM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s seniors advocate is sounding the alarm over an acute need for more long-term care beds in the province, as the growth in demand has outpaced the increase in supply since 2019.

Dan Levitt says in his office’s newly released 2025 Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Directory that the province saw a five-per-cent increase in the number of beds since 2019-2020, while the population of seniors over the age of 65 has grown by 19 per cent in that time.

Levitt says the province will need 16,000 more long-term care beds in the next 10 years to catch up, adding that the B.C. government has “no plan to meet this demand.”

The new report says B.C. has added more than 1,400 beds and six new facilities since 2019, with 513 beds added in 2024-2025 in new care homes in communities such as Kamloops, Aldergrove, Victoria and Prince George.

The data also shows that there were seven fewer publicly subsidized assisted-living units in the province last year when compared to the previous year.

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Levitt says the waiting lists and wait times for long-term care continue to grow, and public home support services “remain unaffordable for many” while not providing adequate help for those receiving care at home.

“We are at the beginning of a rapid increase in the number of people 65 and over and we know the gap between the seniors’ population and older adults requiring public services will only widen if we don’t act now,” Levitt says in a statement.

“The stories I hear from families at their breaking point caring for their loved ones are heartbreaking. We simply must do better.”

The Ministry of Health says the government has spent approximately $3.5 billion in primary care, home health, long-term care, assisted living, and respite services over the last five years and “building more long-term-care homes is one part of our work.”

“We recognize how difficult it is for people and their loved ones to wait for placement in long-term care and assisted living. Ensuring our seniors have the care they need, where and when they need it is a priority of government,” a statement says.

The government says that since 2017, it has announced the expansion and development of 36 long-term care homes, which will provide 5,588 new beds including 3,320 publicly funded spaces.

The statement says “this work is not enough” and points to multiple programs designed to help seniors remain living at home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2026.

The Canadian Press