Why Home Care Is Essential to Canada’s Health System
Hospitals and doctors’ offices may be the most visible parts of Canada’s health system, but much of the care Canadians need can also happen at home.
Home care supports people through recovery, aging, and changing health needs while helping them remain connected to their routines, families, and communities. As demand on Canada’s health system continues to grow, having strong care options outside of hospitals is becoming increasingly important.
Helping People Return Home After a Hospital Stay
Being discharged from hospital does not always mean someone is ready to manage everything on their own. A person recovering from surgery may need help with mobility or wound care. Someone returning home after an illness may need nursing support, medication assistance, or help with meals and personal care while they regain their strength.
Without the right support available at home, leaving hospital can become more complicated. For patients and families, having a plan in place can make the move home feel much more manageable, while access to appropriate community care can also help patients move on to the next stage of recovery.
In 2024–2025, 8% of patients admitted to acute care through an emergency department were designated as requiring an alternate level of care, meaning they no longer needed acute care but were waiting for a more appropriate care setting or service. Their median hospital stay was 24 days, compared with four days for admitted patients overall. Among patients waiting for another level of care, 20% were waiting for home care.[1]
Having appropriate support available at home can help make that transition more manageable, giving people the care they need to continue recovering where they live while helping hospital resources remain available for patients who need acute treatment.
Providing Care in the Right Setting
Hospitals play a critical role when someone needs acute medical treatment, but many health needs continue long after a hospital stay ends. Others can be managed without a hospital visit at all.
Someone living with a chronic condition may need ongoing support to manage their health at home. An older adult might be doing well independently but need some extra help to make everyday routines safer and more manageable. For another person, a change in health or mobility may mean finding a safer, more practical way to manage everyday life without relying on hospital care.
Being able to respond to those different situations is one of the strengths of home care. Support can be shaped around what someone needs at that point in their life rather than requiring every person to follow the same path through the health system.
Home care also helps create a more connected health system, where hospitals can focus on acute care while people who can safely be supported in the community have somewhere appropriate to turn.
Preparing for an Aging Population
The need for this kind of flexibility will only become more important as Canada’s population ages. Statistics Canada projects that the number of Canadians aged 85 and older could grow from approximately 952,000 in 2025 to between 3.3 and 4.2 million by 2075.[2]
Of course, getting older does not automatically mean needing care. Many older adults remain active and independent for years. But a larger older population also means more Canadians may eventually need support with mobility, chronic health conditions, personal care, or other parts of daily life.
For many people, those needs develop gradually. There may not be one clear moment when someone suddenly “needs care.” Small changes can add up over time, and the support that makes sense today may look different a year or several years from now. Home care can adjust alongside those changes, helping people remain in the home and community they know as their needs evolve.
Supporting Family Caregivers Too
Family members and friends already provide an enormous amount of care across Canada. They drive loved ones to appointments, prepare meals, manage medications, help with personal care, check in throughout the day, and step in whenever something needs to be done.
That support can be incredibly meaningful, but it can also become difficult to manage alongside careers, children, personal health, and other responsibilities. And as someone’s needs increase, families may find themselves taking on responsibilities they never expected to manage on their own.
Home care can work alongside families rather than replacing the role they play. Having another person there to help with day-to-day care, provide respite, or manage more complex health needs can give family caregivers some breathing room while making sure their loved one continues to receive the support they need.
With additional support in place, families can spend less time trying to manage every part of care on their own and more time simply being together.
Strengthening Care Beyond the Hospital
Increasing health care capacity is often associated with hospital beds, emergency departments, and health care professionals. Those resources are essential, but capacity also depends on what happens before someone reaches the hospital and what support is available after they leave.
Canada has already recognized the importance of care closer to home. Through the Aging with Dignity bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, $2.4 billion in federal funding was allocated over four years, from 2023–24 to 2026–27, to improve access to home and community care.[3]
That investment reflects a broader reality: health care does not happen in just one place. People move between hospitals, primary care, community services, and their own homes throughout their lives, and gaps between those parts of the system can have very real consequences for patients and families.
A stronger health system needs different types of care working together: hospitals for acute treatment, primary and community care, long-term care when it is needed, and reliable services that can support people safely at home.
Looking Ahead
Canada’s health system will continue to face new demands as the population grows and ages. Meeting those needs will require more than expanding what happens inside hospitals.
Home care gives people another option: receiving appropriate support in familiar surroundings while remaining connected to the lives they have built. At the same time, it gives families and the broader health system more flexibility in how care can be delivered.
Investing in strong home and community care is also an investment in a health system that can better support Canadians now and in the years ahead.
Sources
- Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Availability of LTC Beds and Community Supports Needed for Smooth ED Patient Flow. Published June 25, 2026.
- Statistics Canada. Population Projections for Canada (2025 to 2075), Provinces and Territories (2025 to 2050). Published January 27, 2026.
- Health Canada. Working Together to Improve Health Care in Canada: Aging with Dignity Bilateral Agreements. Government of Canada.
