As many seniors’ homes (RPA) continue to shutter in Quebec, the Regroupement québécois des résidences pour aînés (RQRA) is warning about a lack of funding for these facilities.
In the last eight years, 740 residences have closed their doors - an average of one RPA per week, though the pace has somewhat slowed in the last year.
There are currently 1,350 RPAs still open.
Additionally, the RQRA stresses that when a retirement home ceases services, residents have limited options.
It says the wait list for a spot in a long-term care facility (CHSLD) is just under 3,500 people, and about 5,000 people are waiting for a place in an intermediate resource centre (RI).
That means many people are ending up in the hospital.
“We are trying to work with Santé Québec on measures to reduce transfers to hospitals because, obviously, people should not be hospitalized if they don’t need to be,” laments Marc Fortin, President and CEO of the RQRA. “We need places for people who really need them. We end up with people who are hospitalized because there is no room in CHSLDs, no room in seniors’ homes and no room in IRs.”
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Fortin argues the government also does not provide sufficient funding for care in RPAs.
The results of a Léger survey published on Thursday reveal that nearly eight out of ten RPA owners say that the amounts paid by the Integrated Health and Social Services Centres (CISSS) and the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network (CIUSSS) do not cover the costs of care and services for residents.
Though the majority of RPAs are for-profit, some are not.
“We save the government nearly $4 billion a year for the 38,000 dependent people in our network,” said Fortin. “Four billion is the net amount after other programs and home care that the government pays for these people because it doesn’t pay the RPA, it pays an allowance to provide care for the person.”
“We save a lot of money, but unfortunately, it’s at the expense of seniors’ residence owners,“ he continued.
The amounts allocated to seniors’ homes to provide care can vary, with the lowest rate being $21 per hour, according to Fortin.
”When we get paid $21, $28, $32 an hour, we’re providing care at a loss," he said. “That’s why many RPAs have simply stopped providing care, moving from Category 4 to Category 3 or Category 2... There is no one, absolutely no one, with a care worker as the main caregiver who can provide care for less than $39 or $40 an hour. It’s impossible.”
The majority of RPAs are intended for seniors with a higher loss of autonomy, that is, a classification of Category 3 or 4.
Category 1 and 2 RPAs are intended for autonomous seniors.
Fortin is urging decision-makers to resolve the funding issue.
“We have to stop taking advantage of RPA owners when it comes to the care that people need, and we have to pay them properly,” he argues.
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Waiting for care
The Léger survey was conducted among 453 residents and 91 RPA managers in Quebec’s Montérégie and Lanaudière regions.
Data was collected in the summer and fall of 2025.
The margin of error is plus or minus 4.6 per cent for residents, and plus or minus 10.3 per cent for managers, 19 times out of 20.
When seniors were asked who provided their care, 84 per cent responded that it was the residence staff, whereas on paper, a larger proportion should be the responsibility of their local community services centre (CLSC).
The survey mentions that among those who receive care from the CISSS or CLSC (34 per cent of respondents), one-third reported that they have had a caregiver fail to show up for a scheduled appointment.
Most noted that they did nothing about it, as they did not know what to do.
Services missed include bathing, administering medication and lifting, Fortin explains.
“Often, we are forced to do it for free because the people from the CISSS or CLSC don’t show up,” he said.
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According to him, labour shortages and health care budget cuts are partly to blame.
Fortin says he wants to sit down with Santé Québec, the Quebec Ministry of Health, and any other players involved in senior care, including the Réseau de coopération des EÉSAD and his own Regroupement québécois des résidences pour aînés, a coalition of six major senior housing associations created in 2025.
“Everyone needs to sit down together and work to find a solution. A tidal wave is coming, a wall is coming down on us with seniors in Quebec in the next few years, and we’re not ready,” Fortin said. “We are in the midst of a crisis. We need to take action now because the price of inaction will be so high in the next three to five years. We have to do it now.”
The Canadian Press’s health coverage is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for this journalistic content.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 19.
