Nearly 1 In 3 Canmore Residents Are 55+. Here’s What They Need To Stay.

A new survey found affordability, particularly housing costs, to be the biggest concern for residents hoping to age in Canmore.

Of the 364 written responses, affordability, housing, and cost of living drew 150 mentions, or about 41 percent. Health care and support services drew 90 mentions, while seniors' housing drew 70.

"The single most important thing is cost of living in this community. My taxes on my home are my greatest stress!!" one respondent wrote.

The findings come from a preliminary What We Heard report, produced by the Age-Friendly Working Group with support from the Town of Canmore.

The voluntary survey ran from May 28 to July 6 and drew 456 responses. Of those, 94 percent were full-time Canmore residents, and 70 percent were aged 56 to 75.

According to the 2021 census, nearly a third of Canmore residents were over 55.

Most respondents want to stay in Canmore. In all, 81.2 percent said remaining in the community as they age is important, while 52.1 percent plan to stay in their current home, with or without modifications.

Staying In Canmore Comes At A Cost

Their confidence in paying to stay is lower. Just 57.6 percent felt confident they could afford housing as they age, while 26.4 percent disagreed and 16 percent were neutral.

Separately, 13.9 percent reported having little or no money left after covering basic expenses, or struggling to cover them consistently. Among respondents still working full time, 62.2 percent said they do so out of necessity rather than choice.

Focus groups are planned for the fall, with a final action plan expected to go before council in spring 2027.

Owners And Renters

While many hope to age in Canmore, their ability to stay depends in part on whether they own or rent, according to two Bow Valley Realtors.

"If a senior owns property in Canmore, the affordability of ageing in place is less likely to be a barrier," said Jessica Stoner, an associate broker with RE/MAX Alpine Realty, in an email to Bow Valley Insider.

"If a senior is renting in Canmore or the Bow Valley, this can be challenging," Stoner wrote. "Many are on fixed incomes, while rental rates in Canmore are higher than the average in Alberta."

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., average monthly rent for an apartment or row unit in Canmore reached $2,319 in October 2025, up from $2,049 a year earlier. That compares to $1,574 across Alberta and $1,775 in Calgary.

Canmore's vacancy rate was 1.8 percent, compared to 4.2 percent provincially.

Stoner cautioned that her clients are not representative of all older residents, as she primarily works with those "who own or have the capacity to buy property in Canmore." Those clients, she said, "do not seem to have pressure to move out of Canmore against their wishes."

Amy Clark, a Realtor with Royal LePage Solutions in Canmore, identified three groups of older residents: wealthy retirees, longtime homeowners who can use their equity to fund retirement, and those without the financial resources to remain in the valley.

"Affordability is simply Canmore's biggest barrier for any age," Clark wrote.

However, Clark acknowledged that she has not sold enough seniors' homes locally to draw firm conclusions and has not personally helped a senior leave the valley.

"I have helped a few move to the valley but generally not in the reverse," she wrote.

Selling And Moving

Stoner said seniors who sell and leave the Bow Valley usually do so to be closer to adult children, move somewhere less expensive or access more services.

However, she said moving to a less expensive community is often "less motivated by basic affordability factors and more to free up funds for travel or to facilitate a snowbird lifestyle."

Clark said cost also influences where seniors go for assisted living.

"Many seniors who are ready to sell their family homes and move into assisted living will choose to do it where their dollar goes farther," she wrote. "They can find these types of residences in Calgary and Cochrane for much more affordable prices than in Canmore."

Both realtors said smaller homes are available in Canmore, primarily condominiums and townhouses.

"Downsizing is not an issue here as long as you are comfortable with condo living," Clark wrote.

Those seeking a bungalow "will most likely look outside of Canmore for that type of home," she said, while condos often offer better accessibility through elevators.

Clark said another challenge is deciding what to do with belongings accumulated over the years.

"The harder part of downsizing is deciding how and where to put all your stuff," she wrote.

For Elena "Helen" Silvestroff, 76, affordability was a major factor in leaving Canmore for Cochrane in 2021, after living in the community since around 1994.

"Affordability was definitely a major factor in my decision to move," Silvestroff said. "Downsizing to a place to call home after 70 entails a property without tons of stairs, good accessibility especially in winter, proximity to facilities and convenience of layout."

She said Mountain Shadows, a 50-plus complex on Three Sisters Drive, was the only purpose-built seniors' housing that "just about fit the bill." However, homes were selling for more than $700,000 in 2020, with condo fees above $600 a month and limited access to town without a car.

In Cochrane, she bought a home for "a third of the price of any reasonable home in Canmore." She said fuel costs and property taxes are lower there too.

Affordability was not the only factor. A large new property was built close to her home, and she needed to reduce travel time to Calgary and Red Deer for personal reasons.

Silvestroff said she would not return to Canmore.

"The sense of community offered by a smaller town which existed when I first moved there to start our business has been lost," she wrote.

At The Seniors Centre

Joan Quade, president of the Canmore Seniors Association, said affordability rarely comes up in conversations among members, although she recognizes it is a concern in the community.

"I don't experience it myself," she said. "I don't find we sit around and talk about money."

Instead, members frequently discuss travel and medical care.

"Obviously this is people that have some disposable income," she said.

The association's annual membership fee is $50, with about 2 percent of members using the town's reduced-income program to pay $25.

Quade said she knows people who have moved back to Calgary to be closer to family. While Canmore suits her now, she acknowledged that her own needs could change as she ages.

"Depending on circumstances, like needing medical help or something like that, Calgary might become more appealing," she said.

"I can appreciate that for some people, that's a really big issue, and that there's also the other end of the spectrum here with people with their huge houses," she said. "I can only speak for myself."

What The Housing Provider Sees

Ian Wilson, chief executive of Bow Valley Regional Housing, oversees social housing and seniors' lodges for people who need assistance meeting their housing needs.

He avoids the term affordable housing, noting that even rents 10 percent below market rates can be expensive.

"In Canmore, that's still pretty expensive for most people," Wilson said.

Instead, the organization sets rent for its income-based housing at 30 percent of a tenant's income. A senior earning $1,000 a month, for example, would pay $300 in rent.

"The market is serving those folks who have the means to pay for market housing and we're trying to meet the other folks' needs," he said.

The organization operates about 62 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors across Canmore and Banff, along with the 63-unit Bow River Lodge in Canmore and 19-room Cascade House in Banff. Lodge residents also pay for meals and housekeeping.

Bow River Lodge also has a 60-bed continuing care facility, including 30 beds for people with advanced frailty and 30 in a secure dementia unit.

"It's great that we have 60 units here, but they're full," Wilson said.

About 40 people are waiting for a place at Bow River Lodge, with an estimated wait of about a year for those ready to move. The wait for seniors' apartments can be as long as three years.

Housing is allocated through a points system based largely on financial need rather than on a first-come, first-served basis.

A separate rental assistance program provides up to $725 a month to about 80 Bow Valley households renting privately. It is not limited to seniors, but the assistance cannot be transferred outside the region.

"If they have to leave the valley to go find housing, they can't take that supplement with them," Wilson said.

Wilson said some residents have left because they could not secure housing, although his observations are "mostly anecdotal."

"I can think of a couple of examples of people who were on the wait list for the low income seniors housing who eventually just had to leave," he said.

Housing Isn't The Only Concern

Health care and home care access were also major concerns in the survey.

Stoner said she had not seen residents leave the Bow Valley because of health care needs, while Clark and Silvestroff spoke positively about local medical services.

Wilson, however, said some people still leave to access care.

"Definitely people still leave to get care," he said, although he could not provide a specific example.

He noted that Assisted Living Alberta, rather than Bow Valley Regional Housing, determines who moves into the continuing care beds.

The survey also found that just over 21 percent of respondents expect to move into seniors' or independent living housing at some point.

Wilson questioned whether that reflects what ultimately happens.

"I think a lot of people commonly think they're going to end up in some sort of senior housing, but most don't," he said.

Overall, Wilson said, the Bow Valley needs more housing of every kind.

Based on provincial averages rather than a household-by-household count, the organization's last needs study suggested Canmore could need another lodge of about 60 units within the next 10 to 15 years.

What's Next For Seniors' Housing In Canmore?

Land is "one of the big bottlenecks for non-market housing," Wilson said, because developers generally want full value for it.

He pointed to Canmore's Vital Homes program, which provides below-market housing to eligible residents through Canmore Community Housing, calling it "a policy that will make a meaningful difference."

Wilson expects to have more recommendations once his organization completes a regional scan of non-market housing and its next housing needs assessment.

He said the previous assessment, based on 2021 census data, understated housing needs because pandemic-era income supports temporarily increased some households' reported incomes.

A new assessment will begin once updated census data is available, and Wilson estimated it should be completed in about a year.

Clark said more affordable seniors' housing is needed as communities such as Three Sisters are developed, although she does not work directly in seniors' housing and could not provide vacancy figures.

"We can continue to build 'luxury senior condos,' but if they can't afford them they will sit empty," she wrote. "We need more affordable senior options as well and most importantly we shouldn't have to sacrifice services for affordability."

The survey findings will help inform Canmore's Age-Friendly Action Plan, which will identify programs, services and infrastructure needed to support aging residents. The working group will incorporate feedback from fall focus groups before bringing recommendations to council.

"I think age-in-place and attainable seniors housing need to be part of the conversation," Clark wrote.