Addressing the coming of age and its related complexities among Canada’s Veterans

Abstract: Canada’s Veteran population is ageing, with approximately 66% of its Veterans reportedly aged 55 years and older as of 2021. This cohort of ageing Veterans consists almost entirely of Veterans with service after 1954.1, Veterans with service during World War II or the Korean War comprise less than 6% of the Veteran population in Canada. While Canada has a lengthy history of policy-making related to supporting its older Veterans, new challenges have created a pressing need to determine how to care for the current generation of Veterans. Canadian Veterans with service after 1954 are a much smaller cohort compared to World War II Veterans, however, they are positioned to age with different experiences and unique challenges. Three decades of health research demonstrate that Veterans are ageing with more complex mental and physical health conditions, which may increase their risk of accelerated ageing, frailty or needing intensive long-term care services as they age. In 2021, nearly one in four Veterans reported they lived alone, placing them at an increased risk of social isolation. Further to this, knowledge gaps are limiting our understanding of the best way to support ageing Veterans. For instance, the experience and needs of Veterans from equity-deserving groups, including women, racialized and Indigenous Veterans, and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans, have been understudied from an ageing lens. There also remain knowledge gaps in our understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder in later life, and how it presents alongside conditions such as dementia. The important role of unpaid caregivers and family members of Veterans has long been established, however, there is an opportunity to enhance our understanding of their needs and the effectiveness of interventions to support them. In response to these challenges, this report summarizes our current understanding of Canada’s Veterans from an ageing lens. We examine what is known about the social and health profile of current Veterans, drawing on data from the 2021 Canada Census and Canadian Veterans health research. This report provides a detailed summary of the services available to Canadian Veterans and their unpaid caregivers at the federal and provincial/ territorial levels. With this context in mind, we describe the pressing challenges facing Canada’s older Veterans, including the growing clinical complexity among ageing Veterans, the challenges facing unpaid caregivers and spouses of Veterans, and what we know about the needs of ageing Veterans who are members of equity-deserving groups. Finally, we detail how the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are supporting older Veterans and analyze key lessons we can gain from these countries.