Seniors, caregivers and entrepreneurs turn to tech as Canada's population gets older than ever

From robots that carry laundry baskets up the stairs to apps that help seniors communicate — some in the technology sector are focused on how they can improve the lives of Canada's aging population. 

At AgeTech Innovation Week, more than 25 vendors turned out to show off the latest tech and research. Toronto senior Lorna Earl came out of curiosity, but also as a member of the Toronto Council on Aging and her condo's health and wellness committee.

"We have so much more than I ever imagined would be available," she said. "It's very exciting."

Earl wants to see how the products are incorporated —  not just into individual homes but communities too.

"I'm a baby boomer and I say that proudly," she said. 

"Technology has followed us all through our lives. We do push the limits. And in fairly recent years, the limits are being pushed by an aging population that is used to having good support, good access and will advocate for themselves." 

Over the next three decades, Statistics Canada projects that the number of people aged 85 and older could triple from 861,000 to 2.7 million. 

By 2051, the agency says almost one-quarter of the population could be older than 64  — meaning there'll be nearly 12 million seniors. Those projections are one of the driving forces behind a rise in technology focused on improving the lives of seniors and their caregivers. 

University of Toronto professor Alex Mihailidis is the CEO of AGE-WELL, which hosted the multi-day event. He says one of the most important aspects of the event is educating people about the technology available to support them in their own homes.

"Obviously our population is getting older, we know that it's going to potentially be a challenge for us to deal with in terms of maintaining the health and wellness of our population. So the best thing that can happen is for us all to remain in our homes and communities of our choosing as we grow older," he said.

Mihailidis says technology isn't meant to replace caregivers, himself included, but to give them peace of mind by giving them the ability to stay connected with aging loved ones and knowledgeable about their health.

"I think we all have this expectation of technology being part of our health and wellness growing older, that's what this network is all about, helping to accelerate that," Mihailidis said.

Jayiesh Singh, CEO and co-founder of Able Innovations Inc watched his mother sustain injuries moving and transferring patients after working for years in long-term care homes. Knowing the problem was widespread, he says, was one of his motivations to create the ALTA Platform, a robotic patient transfer technology.

At the moment, Singh says the way people are moved in and out of their beds isn't often a dignified process.