New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds four-in-five Canadians say the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered the way they view long-term care in Canada.

Forty-seven per cent say they will do everything in their power to avoid entering long-term care themselves, and to keep close family members out.

Twenty-two per cent say they’ll start saving for such a plan, while more than twice that number say they “dread” the thought of living in long-term care.

If the industry is to be improved, 45 per cent say significant changes are necessary.  31 per cent say the industry needs a total overhaul.

At least three-in-five residents in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada say that the federal government should be directly involved in creating standards for the industry. In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec, the same number disagree, and say it should be solely up to the provinces.

More Key Findings:

• Three-in-five say private care should be minimized or phased out, rising to two-thirds among those 55 years of age and older. That said, two-in-five say that private care can still be a part of the solution to the problems facing the industry.
• Seven-in-ten (72 per cent) say Canada should invest more in homecare, and a full majority (55 per cent) say they would be willing to pay more in taxes to accomplish it in their own province.
• C. and Ontario residents are most willing to pay extra to fund long-term care. In each case, three-in-five say they would be amenable to paying two per cent more in personal taxes. The rest of the country is divided nearly fifty-fifty on that proposal.
• In terms of top priorities for the industry, two-in-five say more enforcement of standards is needed (43 per cent). Further, a similar number would increase the minimum number of staff per facility (39 per cent) and raise their pay (38 per cent) in order to recruit and retain quality employees.