FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CARP to Premiers: Healthcare is too big for governments to tackle separately
Anthony Quinn in Charlottetown calls for a united provincial and territorial position and full federal cooperation as the oldest baby boomers turn 80
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE — July 22, 2026 — Anthony Quinn, President of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, is in Charlottetown during this week’s Council of the Federation meetings, representing 250,000 CARP members across Canada and calling on Premiers to turn their health care discussions into a common position they can take to Ottawa.
Earlier this month, CARP wrote to Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz, as host and Chair of the Council of the Federation, asking that health care, population aging and federal-provincial-territorial cooperation be given a central place on the agenda. The Council has since confirmed that health is among the issues Premiers will discuss. CARP welcomes that commitment and is looking for the meeting to produce clear next steps.
“Trade, tariffs and Canada’s relationship with the United States are taking up a great deal of political oxygen, and they are important,” said Quinn. “But the senior receiving care on a stretcher in a hospital hallway, or waiting in pain for surgery, diagnostic imaging or a specialist appointment, cannot wait for the next conference or another round of reports.”
“The oldest baby boomers turn 80 this year. That is the clearest possible signal that the pressure is here now.”
Statistics Canada identifies Canada’s baby-boom generation as those born from 1946 through 1965. Canadians born at the beginning of that period turn 80 in 2026.
Canada’s demographic timetable cannot be postponed
Canada now has one in five residents aged 65 or older. That line was already crossed some time ago in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Quebec’s 65-plus population stands at over 22 percent, while British Columbia is at 20.5 percent. Ontario, at 19 percent, is close behind. The pace differs across the country, but every government must prepare for the same demographic direction.
Longer lives are evidence of progress in medicine, public health and social policy. The failure would be to see this change coming and still leave the health system unprepared.
The consequences are already visible. CIHI reports that 5.7 million Canadian adults did not have a regular health care provider in 2024, and estimates that the country would need 49 percent more family physicians to meet current demand. In 2024–25, one in 10 admitted emergency department patients waited more than 36 hours for an inpatient bed. One in 10 Canadians who required diagnostic imaging waited more than 200 days for an MRI or more than 140 days for a CT scan. Older and medically complex patients are among those most affected by delays in admission and gaps elsewhere in the health system.
CARP members have made their priorities equally clear. In an April 2026 national poll of 7,883 respondents, 83 percent strongly agreed that improving access to primary care must be a top priority, while nearly 80 percent strongly supported action to reduce waits for specialists, imaging and medical procedures. Three-quarters placed a similar priority on long-term care.
“The diagnosis has been made,” said Quinn. “Canada has no shortage of white papers, commissions, strategies, audits or expert reports. Patients, families, and health workers know what is happening. What is missing is action, investment and oversight — clear responsibilities, measurable progress and public reporting.”
One taxpayer, shared responsibility
CARP is calling on Premiers to agree on their shared health care priorities and bring a united provincial and territorial position to the federal government.
Provincial and territorial responsibility for delivering health care should be supported by reliable federal partnership and better coordination across governments. The immediate pressures include access to primary care, health workforce shortages, hospital capacity, surgical and diagnostic waits, home and community care, long-term care and support for family caregivers.
“Governments have become very good at explaining who is responsible for which shortfall,” said Quinn. “The person waiting for care does not need another jurisdictional argument. There is only one taxpayer, and that taxpayer expects governments to work together.”
“This problem is simply too big for any province, territory or level of government to solve alone. Premiers should leave Charlottetown ready to speak to Ottawa with one voice and insist on full federal cooperation.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to meet Premiers in person in Charlottetown on July 23, providing an immediate opportunity to bring health care and population aging to the First Ministers’ table.
Premiers have already demonstrated this week that practical interprovincial agreements are possible. On July 21, several provinces signed an agreement expanding direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across provincial borders, building on their work to remove internal trade barriers. CARP supports that spirit of cooperation. The same willingness to work through jurisdictional differences is urgently needed in healthcare, where the stakes for Canadians are much higher.
CARP meetings and media availability in Charlottetown
Quinn has requested and is arranging brief bilateral meetings with several Premiers and senior provincial officials while they are gathered in Charlottetown. He will also connect with members of CARP’s Prince Edward Island chapter to hear directly about the priorities of older Islanders, caregivers, and families.
This is Quinn’s first visit to Prince Edward Island since becoming President of CARP.
Health care capacity and wait times; the impact of population aging; federal-provincial cooperation; primary, home and long-term care; health workforce shortages; and the priorities CARP members are bringing to Canada’s Premiers.
Mr. Quinn is available in Charlottetown on July 22 and 23 for in-person, telephone, and video interviews on:
Media contact
Anthony Quinn
President
CARP — Canadian Association of Retired Persons
Mobile: 416-888-4159
Email: anthony@carp.ca
Media: media@carp.ca
About CARP
CARP, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit association advocating for Canadians as we age. CARP’s work focuses on equitable access to health care, financial security, aging in place, home and community care, long-term care, caregiver support, fraud prevention, freedom from ageism, dignity and independence.
— 30 —
Backgrounder: Additional issues requiring federal-provincial attention
Retail investment advice and bank accountability
CARP is also calling for stronger coordination on the regulation of investment advice delivered through bank-affiliated firms.
A 2025 OSC and CIRO review surveyed nearly 3,000 representatives working at five major bank-affiliated dealers. One in four representatives reported that clients had been recommended products or services that were not in their interests at least some of the time. The regulators also identified concerns involving sales pressure, product choice and the culture within bank-affiliated dealers.
CARP believes older investors should receive advice based on their needs, rather than sales quotas, compensation incentives or pressure to keep their savings within a bank’s proprietary product line. Stronger client-first conduct, transparent disclosure of fees and conflicts, meaningful product choice and effective enforcement are needed.
The harm does not end with an individual investor. Someone who loses retirement savings late in life may have little opportunity to recover and may become more dependent on publicly funded income and social supports. Investor protection is therefore both a consumer issue and a public-policy issue requiring federal and provincial cooperation. CARP has consistently called for stronger duties to prevent financial harm before older Canadians lose savings they cannot replace.
Old Age Security and intergenerational fairness
CARP is concerned by growing efforts to present the retirement security and healthcare needs of older Canadians as the cause of the economic pressures facing younger generations.
Those pressures are real. Younger Canadians face serious challenges involving affordability, income security and confidence in their future. Weakening Old Age Security (OAS) or reducing healthcare for their parents and grandparents will not solve those problems. It will leave today’s younger workers with a weaker retirement system when their own turn comes.
CARP opposes broad OAS cuts that would harm ordinary low- and middle-income seniors. The association supports a serious, evidence-based discussion about fairness and targeted reforms where they are justified, while protecting those who live in Canada and depend on OAS as a basic part of their retirement income.
CARP’s April member survey found that 73 percent of respondents strongly supported protecting and enhancing OAS and CPP.
Aging should not be turned into a competition between generations. Older Canadians are parents, grandparents, caregivers, taxpayers, workers, volunteers, and community leaders. The security of younger Canadians will not be built by making their parents and grandparents less secure. A stronger health system and a dependable retirement-income system are assets that each generation passes to the next.
