By 2040, 22.7% of Canadians will be over the age of 65. This is a well-recognized trend — but one that is often examined in isolation. To better understand the wide-reaching and interconnected impacts of aging on public policy, the CSA Public Policy Centre launched a new research initiative focused on the futures of aging in Canada. Recognizing that aging influences everything from healthcare and housing to labour markets and consumer behaviour, the CSA Public Policy Centre sought a holistic, forward-looking perspective. Creative Futures collaborated with the CSA team to design and lead a series of strategic foresight activities, culminating in the development of four plausible future scenarios to inform and inspire more integrated policy thinking.

Our Approach:

• Conducted research and analysis to identify key trends impacting the futures of aging in Canada;

• Designed and facilitated two virtual workshops with 37 experts from across Canada (economists, futurists, healthcare leaders, housing policy experts, tech innovators, and more) to co-develop draft scenarios; 

• Synthesized ideas and responses from these two workshops, described through the eyes of an older adult and their experience living in Canada, followed by a longer description of the scenario, and the timeline of key events that led to this future;

• Scenarios describing possible futures were published in Aging Canada: Policy Implications of Demographic Change (Oct 2024); and,

• Designed and facilitated a workshop at the CSA Group Policy Pathways Conference (May 13, 2025) to build upon the published scenarios and engage 200+ participants in imagining alternative futures and identifying key policy changes needed to enable the future we want.

Results:

The published report has been well-received by a broad spectrum of policymakers and was used to inform a recent conference hosted by the CSA Public Policy Centre.