Question Period Note: NEW HORIZONS FOR SENIORS PROGRAM

How will the 2020-2021 New Horizons for Seniors Program community-based call for proposals support Canadian communities?

• The New Horizons for Seniors Program supports the Government of Canada’s overarching goals to enhance the quality of life and promote the full participation of individuals, including seniors, in all aspects of Canadian life.
• The latest annual community-based Call for Proposals, held in fall 2020, was designed to account for the challenges facing seniors-serving organizations during the pandemic. Improvements were also made to the application process.
• Over 5,000 applications were received, indicating the strongest demand for funding in the history of the program. Over 3,000 projects have been selected for funding.
• Successful organizations will start receiving funding in the coming weeks.
• These projects will not only improve the well-being of seniors, they will also enable communities to benefit greatly from the increased participation and contribution of seniors to community life.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program is a Grants and Contributions program created in 2004 to help ensure that seniors can benefit from, and contribute to, the quality of life in their communities through the following program objectives:
• promote volunteerism among seniors and other generations;
• engage seniors in the community through mentoring of others;
• expand awareness of elder abuse, including financial abuse;
• support social participation and inclusion of seniors; and
• provide capital assistance for new and existing community projects and/or programs for seniors.
The program’s two funding streams are:
1. Community-based; and
2. Pan-Canadian.

• Budget 2019 included an additional investment of $100 million over 5 years and $20 million per year ongoing for the New Horizons for Seniors Program.

• This additional funding enhances the ability to meet the growing demand for an oversubscribed program that operates in all regions across Canada and will respond to the diverse and growing needs of seniors.

• The current annual budget is $70 million:
o The Community-based stream’s annual budget is $50.04 million, with an additional one-time $10.8 million supplement for the 2020-2021 Call for Proposals bringing the total available to approximately $61M;
o The Pan-Canadian stream’s annual budget is $13.1 million; and
o The administration of the program is $6.86 million.

• During the pandemic, the Department provided both community-based and pan-Canadian funded organizations with flexibilities to adapt their current project activities to support seniors impacted by COVID-19. Examples of project changes include organizations adapting in-person programming to virtual programs, delivering groceries and other necessities and making phone calls to isolated seniors.
Community-Based projects:
• Program Terms and Conditions allow a maximum funding per Community-based project of $100K over two years. However, funding is typically allocated through an annual Call for Proposals, which funds grants of up to $25K over one year. In 2018, a small grant stream ($5K or less), which aims to better support vulnerable populations, was introduced.

• Projects are led or inspired by seniors and address one or more of the five program objectives.

• The New Horizons for Seniors Program continues to be an oversubscribed program.

o Demand for the 2020-2021 call for proposals, which was launched on September 9, 2020 and closed on October 23, 2020 was even greater. A total of 5,070 community-based applications representing more than $99 million were received. In February 2021, over $60 million was approved to support 3,264 projects across Canada (subject to change). Agreements are currently being finalized with funds expected to flow by March 31, 2021.

o As part of this latest call for proposals, in addition to addressing at least one of the Program’s five objectives, project proposals could also address issues affecting seniors during the pandemic.

• COVID-19 Pandemic Response
o On May 12, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister announced an additional investment of $20 million in the New Horizons for Seniors Program.
Pan-Canadian Projects:
• Pan-Canadian projects can receive up to $5 million over five years, in grants and contributions funding.

• The 2018-2019 Pan-Canadian Call for Concepts closed on January 21, 2019. This Call, using the Collective Impact approach, sought projects with a focus on the social inclusion of vulnerable seniors. Over 200 concepts were received and 22 Collective Impact plans have been approved by the Minister of Seniors. Most projects began in fall 2019 and will be funded up to five years in duration.

• COVID-19 Pandemic Response
o On March 29th, the Prime Minister announced $9M in funding through the New Horizons for Seniors Program to the United Way Centraide Canada to fund projects in each province and territory to support isolated, vulnerable seniors cope with the health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These investments helped to provide essential services to seniors such as the delivery of groceries and medications, meal preparation, transportation to necessary medical appointments or personal outreach to assess individuals’ needs and connect them to community supports. More than 900 projects were supported through this funding.

• Since its introduction in 2004, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 30,000 projects in hundreds of communities across the country.