Supporting Caregivers and Accessing Home and Community Care in Canada

The Role and Realities of Caregivers

Across Canada, caregivers play an essential role in helping individuals live and age safely, with dignity, at home and in their communities – where most Canadians want to be. They provide emotional support, coordinate care, assist with daily activities, and often act as the primary link between loved ones and the health system.

At the same time, caregivers balance employment, family responsibilities, and their own health needs. Despite the critical role they play, most report feeling overwhelmed, tired, and anxious.

Navigating Home and Community Care in Canada

One of the biggest challenges caregivers – and many individuals seeking care – face is navigating home and community care systems. Navigation involves understanding what services exist, determining eligibility, knowing where to start, and coordinating across multiple providers and organizations. Supports exist, but they can be difficult to access. Services and eligibility vary by province and territory, and information is often fragmented across multiple organizations and platforms. For those already stretched thin, figuring out what help is available – and how to access it – adds additional stress.

Our recent article, Aging in Place in Canada: Why Caregivers Matter and How to Find Support, co-authored by the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE) and the Canadian Home Care Association (CHCA), explores the caregiver role, the realities of caregiving, and how Canadians can access home and community care services across Canada.

Home and Community Care Resources to Support Caregivers and Canadians

In the article, we outline the types of supports that may be available, including public home and community care services and caregiver-specific resources. While writing the article, the CHCA identified a significant gap: there is currently no single, centralized resource that connects Canadians to public home and community care pathways across provinces, territories, and federal systems.

Recognizing this gap, the CHCA developed a home and community care resource that helps Canadians identify and access their public system webpages. Designed as a practical starting point, it allows individuals to explore the publicly funded home and community care services and supports available to them.

Whether you are seeking support for yourself, assisting a family member or friend, providing care as a caregiver or volunteer, or simply looking for information, this resource directs you to the information you need to understand what services are available and how to access them.

Complementing this system-level navigation, the CCCE offers a comprehensive caregiver resource page focused on knowledge-sharing, lived experience, and peer support. CCCE curates trusted tools, guides, courses, and community-based supports from across the country, helping caregivers find practical help, learn from others, and feel less alone in their caregiving journey.

Together, these resources support Canadians whether they are seeking care for themselves, supporting a family member or friend, providing care as a caregiver or volunteer, or simply looking for reliable information to better understand what services and supports are available and how to access them.

Building a Brighter Future of Care

CCCE firmly believes that caregiving is the next frontier of Canadian public policy. With one in four Canadians providing care to a family member or friend today, and half of us expected to give care some point in our lifetime, all orders of government have a role to play in ensuring that caregivers and recipients of care are supported through their journeys.

In 2025, CCCE released A National Caregiving Strategy for Canada, which outlines actionable policy solutions to address the biggest challenges in care. The Strategy was co-designed with thousands of caregivers from every corner of the country.

Policies were grouped into five pillars, including:

• Pillar 1: Supports, programs and services for caregivers
• Pillar 2: Supports for caregivers in work and education
• Pillar 3: Financial supports for care recipients
• Pillar 4: Build sustainable care provider workforce
• Pillar 5: Leadership and recognition

CCCE’s Act on Care campaign prompted Canadians from across the country to send a letter to the federal leaders, including the Prime Minister to share their support for caregiving polices.

Visit canadiancaregiving.org/national-caregiving-strategy to learn more about the Strategy and how to get involved.

Recognizing Caregivers on National Caregivers Day

This year, National Caregivers Day is on Tuesday, April 7th, 2026. It is a dedicated day to recognize the millions of caregivers across Canada whose contributions often go unseen and undervalued.

But National Caregivers Day is more than a moment of recognition – it’s a call to action. By sharing information, connecting caregivers to supports, and advocating for policies and programs that make caregiving more sustainable, we can help ensure caregivers are not left to navigate their responsibilities alone. Caregivers are central to home and community care in Canada, and recognizing their contributions must be matched with access to the resources and supports they need.

We encourage you to read and share Aging in Place in Canada: Why Caregivers Matter and How to Find Support. Supporting caregivers helps strengthen home and community care and ensures more people can receive the care and supports they need at home and in their communities.