Growing old far from your language

In July 2023, a Statistics Canada study published in Health Reports (2019-2020 data) estimated that about 1.1 million people aged 65 and over, or 19.2%, felt lonely. Seniors who arrived in Canada as adults, between 18 and 44, were at higher risk than those born here. The study did not measure the role of language separately, but other data shed light on the question.

In Montreal, the portrait drawn by the regional public health department from the 2016 Census counted nearly 130,000 immigrant seniors, or 44% of the city's seniors. Of these, 14% spoke neither French nor English. The paradox: they were less likely to live alone than seniors born in Canada (27% compared with 44%). So one can be surrounded by family and still be alone inside one's head, for lack of neighbours, doctors or friends with whom to share one's words.

Neighbourhood organizations, libraries and places of worship are multiplying coffee meetups and groups in people's languages of origin. They recall something simple: a conversation, even a brief one, is a form of care.