Age-Friendly Community
The City of New Westminster has a long history of age-friendly planning and building a community that meets the diverse needs of older adults, helping them live with safety, dignity, and connection.
Building an Age-Friendly City
In 2007, the City established regular information fairs to strengthen older adults’ awareness of and access to supports and services. This was followed by participation in the Seniors Planning and Action Network (SPAN, 2008 – 2017), supporting diverse projects related to accessibility, community health, housing adaptability, transportation, and community engagement.
In 2016, the City of New Westminster launched a Dementia-Friendly Community Action Plan, the first of its kind in British Columbia. The plan includes forty-seven actions to raise awareness about dementia and ensure City facilities, programs, and services are accessible and inclusive.
In 2017, the City introduced its first Age-Friendly Community Strategy to address both current and future needs of an aging population. The strategy supported a vision of the city as an inclusive, welcoming, and accessible place where older adults can stay active, connected, and lead meaningful lives.
In 2018, New Westminster was officially recognized as an Age-Friendly British Columbia Community. This recognition built on earlier initiatives.
Supporting Older Adults in Changing Times
Full implementation of the 2017 Strategy was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as City staff prioritized urgent needs for vulnerable residents, particularly older adults. Since then, older adults have continued to face ongoing challenges, including social isolation, climate emergency impacts, rising living costs, and limited access to supports that help people age safely and with dignity.
In 2024, the City secured funding through the BC Healthy Communities Age-Friendly Communities Grant Program to update its 2017 strategy. This update builds on the original plan while ensuring the City’s approach remains current, coordinated, and responsive to the changing needs of all older adults in our community.
The New Westminster Age-Friendly Strategy (2026)
The new New Westminster Age-Friendly Strategy (2026) was officially endorsed on March 9, 2026. Updates and additions reinforce a vision of a city where older adults feel safe, supported, connected, and informed. It is guided by principles of equity, reconciliation, diversity, and co-production, and affirms that all older adults deserve autonomy, dignity, visibility, and a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their lives.
Implementation of the Strategy relies on collaboration across City departments, community members with lived experience, and local organizations. An Age-Friendly Strategy Implementation Working Group will support this ongoing engagement, ensuring older adults’ needs continue to be included in City planning, policies, programs, and services.
The Strategy and Implementation Working Group demonstrate the City’s commitment to inclusive, responsive, and meaningful age-friendly planning that reflect the real-life experiences, needs and strengths of older adults in New Westminster.
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