Dear friends,

This September marks a particularly meaningful moment for the NIA as we celebrate our 10^th anniversary.

Over the past decade, the NIA has advanced research, informed public policy and brought people together around a shared goal: to build a Canada where older adults feel valued, included, supported, and better prepared to age with confidence.

 
On September 17, I hope you will join us virtually as we celebrate this milestone. Together with my NIA colleagues Dr. Samir Sinha, Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald and Talia Bronstein, we will explore what Canada’s changing demographics mean for our health, housing, retirement income and caregiving systems and what we need to do now to prepare for what lies ahead.

 
I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the NIA’s work over the past decade. Our progress has been made possible by researchers, partners, policymakers, funders, advocates and communities across Canada who share our commitment to improve the lives of older adults and the systems that support them. 

In this month’s newsletter, you’ll also find:

• New French-language regional infographics: Highlighting key findings from the NIA’s 2025 Ageing in Canada Survey, including insights on social connection, financial security, ageism, access to care and ageing at home.

• An introduction to the Pension Centre of Excellence Lab and how the Lab will help PCE members put NIA research and tools into practice.

• An opportunity to help make vaccine information more accessible. Help us review our upcoming multi-lingual vaccine educational materials.

• New research on dementia prevention and brain health, examining how technology can help people translate awareness into action and adopt behaviours that promote brain health.

I look forward to celebrating with you in September.

Alyssa Brierley
Executive Director
National Institute on Ageing

Join Us Virtually to Celebrate the NIA’s 10^th Anniversary

This year marks an important milestone for both Canada and the NIA.

As the NIA celebrates 10 years of advancing research, shaping policy and convening conversations on ageing, Canada has reached a historic demographic milestone of its own. We are now a super-aged nation, with more than one in five Canadians aged 65 and older.

Canadians are living longer than ever before. We have an opportunity to ensure our health, housing, retirement income and caregiving systems evolve to meet the needs of an ageing population. The question is no longer whether Canada is ageing; it is whether we are prepared for what comes next.

This hybrid event will feature an interactive panel discussion with NIA experts Alyssa Brierley, Dr. Samir Sinha, Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald (joining virtually) and Talia Bronstein, who will explore what it means for Canada to be a super-aged nation, the opportunities and challenges ahead, and the actions needed over the next decade to improve the lives of older adults and the systems that support them. 

We hope you’ll join us online as we celebrate 10 years of the NIA and look ahead to the future of ageing in Canada.

Nouvelles infographies régionales de l’INV disponibles en français

Chaque infographie explore des dimensions clés du vieillissement, notamment les liens sociaux, la sécurité financière, l’âgisme, l’accès aux soins et la capacité de vieillir chez soi. Les résultats offrent un aperçu essentiel de ce que signifie vieillir au Canada aujourd’hui. 

New Report from the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) in partnership with the NIA

Dementia risk can be reduced, yet many people still do not feel equipped to take action.

A new AgeTech Insights Report published by the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) examines the gap between awareness and action—and how technology can help people adopt brain-healthy behaviours.

Drawing on insights from more than 2,000 adults aged 40+ in Canada and the United Kingdom, the report highlights opportunities for digital tools that support motivation, progress tracking and access to trusted guidance.

Read Unlocking Dementia Prevention: The Role of Technology in Supporting Brain Health to explore the findings.

This report is a collaborative effort between CABHI and the NIA, Alzheimer’s Society of the United Kingdom, and the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance. It was specifically supported by the expertise of the NIA’s Director of Health Policy Research, Dr. Samir Sinha, who is also a CABHI’s AgeTech Insights Fellow.

Volunteer Reviewers Needed: Help the NIA Make its Multi-Lingual Vaccine Resources More Accessible

The NIA  is committed to ensuring that its resources are accessible and responsive to the needs of Canada’s diverse population.

We are looking for volunteers who are fluent in one or more of the following languages to review and provide feedback on our translated resources from time to time:

• Arabic

• Chinese (Simplified)

• Chinese (Traditional)

• German

• Greek

• Italian

• Portuguese

• Punjabi

• Spanish

• Tagalog

By volunteering your time, you will help the NIA strengthen the quality and accessibility of its multi-lingual resources and better serve communities across Canada.

Interested in volunteering? Please fill out this form.

The NIA is pleased to announce that Gareth Gibbins, Principal and Founder of Pension Forge, will lead the newly created Pension Centre of Excellence (PCE) Lab.

In this role, Gareth will lead the PCE Lab’s work to help PCE members put research into practice within their own plans and organizations. The Lab’s initial work will focus on applying NIA research and tools, including the Cost of Ageing (COA) Calculator and research on communicating the value of workplace retirement plans.

Gareth brings more than two decades of hands-on pension experience, including leading the application of the NIA's retirement income framework to plan communications and member education. This experience gives him first-hand insight into how evidence-based research can be translated into practical tools and approaches that support better retirement outcomes. 

The NIA is pleased to welcome Terri Tan as an Articling Student.

Terri brings experience supporting older adults and underserved communities through community services and legal advocacy. Before joining the NIA, she worked with The Neighbourhood Group Community Services, helping low-income older adult immigrants access government benefits and community supports. She later worked with the Algoma Community Legal Clinic, supporting First Nations, Métis and low-income clients with housing and income-security matters.

Terri holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and a Juris Doctor from Queen’s University, where her research included environmental equity and climate change litigation in Canada and the United States.

HelpAge Canada launches CanBelong Coalition to strengthen belonging among older adults

HelpAge Canada has launched the CanBelong Coalition, a new pan-Canadian coalition bringing together organizations and leaders with diverse expertise and perspectives to strengthen belonging and inclusion among older adults. The NIA is proud to be a founding member of the Coalition, which will help guide the ongoing CanBelong initiative and deepen understanding of loneliness, social isolation and the factors that foster meaningful connection and belonging as we age.

As part of its work, the Coalition will help develop benchmarking tools to better understand how loneliness is experienced across diverse populations and the role of community-based seniors’ services in fostering belonging. The findings will support evidence-informed advocacy and policy recommendations at the community, provincial and national levels, helping advance a future where older adults can participate fully in community life and feel valued, connected and included.

Accessible Skies: Help Improve Air Travel Accessibility

HelpAge Canada’s Accessible Skies project seeks to better understand the barriers people with cognitive disabilities and their care partners experience when travelling through Canadian airports, and to identify practical changes that could make air travel more accessible, accommodating and barrier-free.

The project invites people with cognitive disabilities, including learning, developmental and memory-related disabilities such as dementia, as well as their care partners, caregivers and family members, to complete a survey. The survey will help identify how often specific barriers occur, how severe they are and which improvements would make the greatest difference.
Participants must be 18 or older and have experience travelling through a Canadian airport or have reduced or stopped flying because of accessibility barriers. Surveys are available in English and French.

New Resource: Aging and Temperature Sensitivity

How does ageing affect the way we experience temperature? In the educational video Aging and Temperature Sensitivity, Dr. Saiful Hoque shares firsthand stories from older adults about the challenges of temperature sensitivity and its impact on their daily lives, mobility and overall well-being.

Produced at the KITE Research Institute, the video highlights the importance of understanding lived experience to develop practical, person-centred solutions. As part of his CABHI-supported Staying Warm, Staying Safe project, Dr. Hoque is exploring innovative thermoregulating smart textiles while working closely with older adults, caregivers, clinicians and researchers to ensure these technologies meet real-world needs.

Les ressources du Centre d’action pour la sécurité du revenu (ISAC) sont maintenant offertes en français!

Découvrez deux ressources conçues pour aider les personnes qui quittent les programmes d’aide sociale en Ontario à l’âge de 65 ans ainsi que les professionnels qui les accompagnent.

Vous percevez des prestations du programme OT/POSPH et vous allez avoir 65 ans? Cinq conseils pour protéger votre revenu à 65 ans

Cette ressource destinée aux personnes aînées propose des conseils pratiques pour planifier cette transition, notamment sur la déclaration de revenus annuelle, les démarches pour demander les prestations destinées aux aînés, le maintien des prestations de santé de l’aide sociale et les moyens d’éviter les frais liés aux médicaments sur ordonnance.

Votre patient atteint-il 65 ans et reçoit-il de l’aide sociale? Cinq conseils pour aider les personnes aînées à maintenir leurs revenus et leurs prestations de santé à 65 ans

Conçue pour les professionnels de la santé et des services sociaux, cette ressource présente des conseils pratiques pour accompagner les patients et les clients dans la transition vers les prestations destinées aux personnes aînées. Elle met également en évidence les principales démarches et les références utiles avant l’âge de 65 ans.

Defy Dementia™ Episode 38: Spotlight on Improv

Tune in at defydementia.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• October 15-17, 2026: Canadian Association on Gerontology, CAG 2026, Charlottetown, PEI

• October 26-28: Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, CCNA Annual Conference 2026, Vancouver, BC

• October 26-28: United Way Healthy Aging Summit, Richmond BC

• November 2-4, 2026: AGE-WELL Annual Conference, Ottawa, ON

Safe summer exercise for older adults with chronic conditions: How to be 'mindful' of your body’s needs

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TMU National Institute on Ageing Fund

Help create a Canada where older adults feel valued, included, supported and better prepared to age with confidence by making a charitable gift to the TMU National Institute on Ageing Fund today. Gifts to the TMU National Institute on Ageing Fund make a tangible impact on the future of ageing in Canada. You choose the amount. You make the difference.