海角社区官网

This generational squeeze is why the Ontario government鈥檚 recent move to let new long-term care (LTC) homes bypass parts of the planning process caught my attention. On the surface, it looks like quick action to meet urgent capacity pressures.

But the decision reinforces a one-dimensional solution: funneling older Ontarians into institutional care, while leaving younger generations priced out of housing altogether.

We can, and should, think differently. Intergenerational housing is a model that could address both crises at once. Instead of separating older and younger Ontarians, it creates spaces where multiple generations live under one roof or within the same community. Shared resources mean lower costs, stronger family connections and reduced reliance on overstretched LTC homes.

This isn鈥檛 an abstract idea. Statistics Canada reports that multi-generational households grew by 50 per cent between 2001 and 2021, making them one of the fastest-growing household types in the country. More families are already adapting to economic realities by living together.

The problem, though, is that Ontario鈥檚 housing and care policies have not adapted to those same realities. Our LTC framework is still built around standards from 2015, when the need for intergenerational options wasn鈥檛 less apparent.

海角社区官网already has a living example of what鈥檚 possible. The St. Clair O鈥機onnor Community (SCOC, a non-profit residence in East York, intentionally blends seniors, families, and young people. SCOC shows that when policy supports innovative housing models, communities can thrive across generations. But rather than looking to examples like these, our province continues to double down on institutional long-term care as the default path forward.

That approach ignores some hard truths. The cost of building and operating LTC facilities is enormous. Families often feel guilty moving loved ones into them, and residents themselves can feel isolated from their children and grandchildren.

Meanwhile, younger Ontarians continue to be locked out of the housing market.

Intergenerational housing can鈥檛 solve everything, but it鈥檚 one of the few solutions that directly addresses the needs of both groups at once.

But even with the More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23), current rules make intergenerational living difficult.

Many cities, including Toronto, allow only one main dwelling per lot, and building codes limit shared kitchens, bathrooms and occupancy. Legally, it鈥檚 very hard to design multi-unit homes where families and young adults can live together.

Updating these outdated regulations to encourage mixed-age living arrangements would be a step toward treating housing as a system rather than a series of silos.

It would allow for creative zoning, flexible building codes, and funding streams that don鈥檛 pigeonhole housing into categories of 鈥渓ong-term care鈥� 鈥渁ffordable rental,鈥� or 鈥渇amily home.鈥�

As a young person in Mississauga, I don鈥檛 just want a roof over my head. I want a future where my parents can age with dignity while staying connected to family and community. Fast-tracking more LTC homes may be politically expedient, but it leaves entire generations disconnected.

The province鈥檚 planning reforms offer a chance to think bigger. If we can bend the rules to build LTC homes faster, we can also bend them to support more creative, intergenerational housing models. Ontario has the opportunity to become a leader in this space, but it requires political will to update regulations and recognize that housing and care are not separate issues.

If the government truly wants to solve Ontario鈥檚 housing crisis, it must stop building for one generation at a time, and start building for all of us.