Canada Senior Housing

Senior housing sector experiencing a delayed recovery. As long-term care facilities and retirement homes became the epicenters of COVID-19 infections at the onset of the global health crisis, demand for senior housing fell significantly, which caused vacancy to climb to 14.5 per cent by the end of May 2021. Although the pandemic now appears to be in the rear-view mirror, demand has yet to recover to the 2019 level, and the occupancy rate is estimated to remain below the pre-pandemic high until at least 2025. Despite this cyclical headwind, which is impacting the senior housing sector for a longer period of time compared to other property types, Canada’s increasing elderly population will be a structural tailwind that should aid demand over the upcoming decade.