Virginia Page Jähne wants to ask the federal candidates in her Winnipeg riding of Elmwood-Transcona about their plans to strengthen health care and tackle inflation.
But speaking with less than two weeks left in the campaign, none had come to her door.
“This year I’m really struggling,” said Page Jähne. Normally, she has an idea of how she will cast her ballot. Not this time. Not when the issues she cares about most — health-care reform, climate change and cost of living — seem to get little attention.
Health care matters greatly for Page Jähne, 75. In November 2023, her husband of 55 years died of Parkinson’s in a hospital. She wished he could have received care services to spend his final days at home.
Health care matters to her friends, too. She is concerned federal party leaders are not discussing it as much as they should. “I do think it’s being overshadowed by the 51st state issue, the whole sovereignty in our North and all of that,” she said.
Senior voters like Page Jähne matter.
Canadians over 65, who account for about a fifth of the population, consistently vote in large numbers. In the last four federal elections, those aged 65 to 74 had the highest voter turnout of any age bracket tracked by Elections Canada.
After almost a decade of Liberal governments, many senior voters do not appear eager for a change of government. Polls from different polling agencies show that voters over 55 — particularly women — favour the Liberals.
Financial security
Financial security is a key part of the Conservatives’ and Liberals’ promises to seniors.
The Conservatives’ platform promises to increase the basic personal amount for working seniors by $10,000. It pledges to keep the eligibility age for Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments at 65. It also promises to delay by two years when seniors must withdraw funds from their Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP).
The party has also announced plans to protect seniors from fraud. It would mandate banks and cellphone companies to put scam detection systems in place, particularly on accounts for seniors, and to create a mandatory 24-hour delay for high-risk transactions on seniors’ accounts. The party, which has promised a suite of tough-on-crime measures, has also promised to impose mandatory sentences for fraud and for failing to prevent fraud.
For their part, the Liberals have promised to increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for low-income seniors by five per cent for one year. The Grits also promised to reduce the minimum withdrawal amount from Registered Retirement Investment Funds (RRIF) by 25 per cent for one year.
Right now, a person’s RRSP must be converted into a RRIF when they turn 71, and individuals must make minimum withdrawals from those accounts.
Some of these announcements are promising, says Rudy Buttignol, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP). The organization has long advocated for increased financial security, especially around Old Age Security and RRIFs.
The Conservatives’ promise to delay when people must withdraw from their RRSPs would be a “step in the right direction,” he said. But mandatory minimum withdrawals must be eliminated altogether.
“Governments will get their money in the end, so it doesn’t cost the government anything,” he said.
But the Liberals’ promises are “really thin and temporary,” he said. Buttignol estimates the promised five per cent increase to Guaranteed Income Supplement will give people less than $2 a day. The one-year increase is “really disappointing,” he said, noting it will do nothing for seniors living in poverty.
Both parties repeated these promises in their costed platforms, released in the final 10 days of the campaign.
Speaking before the Liberals and Conservatives released their costed platforms, Buttignol said he worried the next government may fund new programs by cutting seniors’ programs. Old Age Security is the federal government’s most expensive social program, costing about $81 billion in 2024-2025.
A dedicated portfolio
Despite the parties’ various pledges, seniors who spoke to Canadian Affairs for this story say their concerns have been neglected throughout this campaign. More than that, they worry their concerns are neglected even when there is not an election.
“Seniors seem to be totally forgotten as part of our society,” said Olive Bryanton, 88, a researcher at the University of Prince Edward Island.
For some seniors, a key priority is having a dedicated seniors minister in the next government’s cabinet. Both Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper had a minister responsible for seniors in their cabinets at different times.
Mark Carney eliminated the minister of seniors portfolio when he became prime minister in March. Responsibility for seniors currently falls to Steven MacKinnon, who is minister of jobs and families.
Seniors’ issues cross various government ministries and departments, including finance, health, housing and employment. The seniors ministry needs to be its own portfolio, says Bryanton. When seniors are included with other portfolios — like family — seniors do not get enough attention, she says.
“Without a minister for older persons, there’s no single minister responsible for co-ordinating policies that directly impact seniors,” said Gabrielle Gallant, director of policy at the National Institute on Ageing, a research centre at Toronto Metropolitan University.
The institute, along with other seniors’ and caregiver organizations, issued an open letter calling on the next government to have a minister responsible for older persons.
“Older adults are a formidable electoral block that’s growing, and all we can do is call on the political parties to advance the policies that we think are meaningful and important,” said Gallant.
Debilitating attitudes
Mary P. Brooke, of Victoria, B.C. “absolutely” thinks the next government needs a minister of seniors.
Brooke says she is surprised that parties have not issued dedicated platforms for seniors, given the number of senior voters in Canada or voters who care for seniors.
For Brooke, health care, pharmacare and housing are key. She thinks the NDP will advocate for pharmacare after the election but thinks more Canadians should be concerned about the affordability of medications.
But Brooke is just as concerned with how many view seniors as not contributing to society — even though many work because they cannot afford to retire, or do not want to.
“People’s attitudes toward people who are older is debilitating in many ways, and it’s a loss to the community.”
She knows how seniors strengthen communities. More than 15 years ago, when she was in her mid-50s, she started a local journalism company, Island Social Trends. She has published pieces urging senior voters to cast ballots.
But she knows why seniors’ issues have not gotten as much attention this election campaign: U.S. President Donald Trump. “This is an unusual election. Overriding everything is the economic impact from the States.”
For Bryanton, the University of Prince Edward Island researcher, seniors’ concerns go beyond politics.
“There needs to be a shift in any society toward how we view older people. Older people are not a burden.”
