Understanding the Factors Driving the Epidemic of Social Isolation and Loneliness among Older Canadians

Social isolation and loneliness are becoming increasingly recognized as significant public health concerns, particularly for older individuals, across Canada and around the world. With older persons making up a rapidly growing proportion of Canada’s population, the number of isolated or lonely older Canadians is expected to significantly increase, meaning that both the individual and societal consequences of loneliness and social isolation will likely also become more severe.

The report, Understanding the Factors Driving the Epidemic of Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Canadians, finds that as many as 41 per cent of Canadians aged 50 years and older are at risk of social isolation and up to 58 per cent have experienced loneliness before. To date, a lack of consistent definitions and measurement scales of loneliness and social isolation have made it challenging to fully characterize the scope of the problem in Canada, which could better enable measures to address it. Using data from the NIA’s inaugural 2022 Ageing in Canada Survey results, the report aims to fill this evidence gap by examining the extent to which both social isolation and loneliness are impacting Canadians aged 50 years and older across 10 provinces, and will continue to do so over the coming decade.