B.C. long-term care capacity is lagging seniors growth

New provincial data shows British Columbia’s long-term care supply is rising far more slowly than its senior population, while the care workforce gap extends beyond nurses and personal support staff. The mismatch raises pressure on facilities, quality-of-life programming and training pipelines as demand climbs toward 2035.

Why it matters: - British Columbia is adding long-term care capacity more slowly than it is adding older adults who need it. - The gap affects both beds and the people needed to staff daily care, including recreation and activity roles that shape residents’ quality of life. - Provincial projections suggest the shortfall will widen unless the province expands supply and workforce training.

What happened: - The Office of the Seniors Advocate released its 2025 Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Directory on Jan. 27, 2026. - The directory covers 301 long-term care facilities and 133 assisted living residences. - The Office reports long-term care beds rose 5% since 2019/20. - Over the same period, B.C.’s population age 65 and over grew 19%. - There were seven fewer publicly subsidised assisted living units in 2024/25 than in the prior year. - The Office says B.C. faces a current shortfall of 2,000 long-term care beds. - The Office says the gap is more than 700% larger than the Ministry of Health’s projected demand of 16,000 long-term care beds by 2035/36. - B.C.’s senior population is projected to grow another 26% over the next decade.

The details: - Dan Levitt said the province’s own data shows 16,000 more long-term care beds will be needed over the next decade, and the province has no plan to meet that demand. - The workforce issue is not limited to clinical staff. - Recreation and activity programming in care homes is largely delivered by assistant-level workers. - WorkBC forecasts 5,570 job openings between 2025 and 2035 for program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness, the occupational group that includes seniors’ activity roles. - WorkBC lists a provincial median hourly wage of $23.74 for that group. - WorkBC says the typical entry requirement is a high school diploma. - WorkBC also reports only 19% of workers in the group are employed full time.

Between the lines: - The long-term care conversation in B.C. is shifting from a pure facilities problem to a staffing and service-delivery problem. - If care homes cannot recruit enough activity and recreation staff, quality-of-life services are likely to be squeezed even if bed counts rise. - The data points to pressure on training institutions that prepare workers for these roles.

What’s next: - Demand for long-term care beds is projected to keep rising through 2035/36. - Edison College’s therapeutic recreation activity assistant certificate is positioned as one pipeline for workers in this space. - The program runs 23 weeks and includes 462 hours of training, with 20 weeks of distance theory and a three-week, 90-hour supervised practicum in Victoria, B.C. - Coursework includes person-centred care, interpersonal communication, lifestyle and leisure education, and a practical approach to dementia. - The program also includes FoodSafe Level 1, Standard First Aid with CPR Level C, and the Provincial Violence Prevention Certificate. - The program has been reviewed and approved by the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit of B.C.’s Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. - Admission requires a high school diploma or equivalent, or mature student status at 19 or over. - StudentAid BC funding is available to eligible students. - Edison College partners with Windmill Microlending, which provides loans of up to $15,000 to eligible newcomers to Canada.

The bottom line: - B.C.’s long-term care gap is growing faster than its capacity, and fixing it will require more than construction alone.