Aging in Place: The Urgent Need for Long-Term Care in Our Community
TBM faces a defining local-care decision: protect the Province’s 192-bed long-term care allocation, address potential disruption at Errinrung, and advance Grey Road 19 as the practical path to keeping aging residents close to home.
The Town should also make the provincial case for additional beds, using local demographics and capacity risk to demonstrate that current and future demand exceeds today’s supply.
The Local Demand Case
The need for localized senior care is not a future concern—it is an immediate reality, reflected in Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census profile for The Blue Mountains and Town project reporting:
34.2% of TBM residents are aged 65 or older. This is nearly double the provincial average of 18.5%.
58.8 years is our median age, reflecting one of the highest concentrations of older adults in Ontario.
With Errinrung representing only 60 licensed beds locally, any closure, displacement, or redevelopment gap before replacement capacity is built would leave TBM with effectively no in-town long-term care beds.
When seniors must leave TBM for care, families lose daily access, caregivers lose proximity, and residents lose community connection at a vulnerable stage of life.
Current Capacity Risk: Errinrung
The confirmed local capacity is modest: Errinrung Long Term Care Home is currently the only licensed long-term care home operating within Thornbury, with 60 licensed beds and public reporting indicating demand for admission.
The risk is redevelopment uncertainty: earlier discussions indicated that most Errinrung beds require redevelopment to meet current long-term care standards, meaning any closure, relocation, or transition gap would materially affect local access.
The implication is substantial: given that more than one-third of TBM residents are already 65 or older and the median age is nearly 59, losing or interrupting even 60 local beds would increase out-of-town placements and make the 192-bed Grey Road 19 proposal an essential replacement and growth capacity.
Project Setback: Why 125 Peel Street Did Not Proceed
The Town previously pursued the 125 Peel Street Campus of Care, a broader hub concept that included long-term care, retirement residences, daycare space, and affordable workforce housing.
In January 2025, Council ended negotiations after cost escalation, economic shifts, and development-charge changes made the campus financially unviable, redirecting the long-term care effort toward Grey Road 19.
The setback made one point unavoidable: the Town cannot afford to lose the provincial long-term care bed allocation, and the next path must be narrower, deliverable, and focused first on beds.
Preferred Solution: Grey Road 19
Council has since focused on securing a deliverable long-term care facility rather than reviving the broader campus concept.
Through PeopleCare Communities, the Town has worked to protect and expand the allocation to 192 beds, with Town-owned land on Grey Road 19 emerging as the most practical route to convert that allocation into local care capacity.
Decision Path: Protect, Prove, Align, Expand
1. Protect the existing 192-bed allocation by keeping Grey Road 19 municipally ready, publicly supported, and aligned with an eligible operator.
2. Prove unmet need with Census data, waitlist evidence, hospital-discharge pressures, caregiver impacts, and any replacement demand tied to Errinrung.
3. Align municipal leaders, Ontario Health partners, the operator, and elected representatives around a formal needs and business case.
4. Pursue additional provincial beds by asking Ontario to recognize any net Errinrung capacity loss as replacement demand and reserve expansion capacity for TBM’s aging population.
How Residents Can Support the Decision Path
Planning Readiness: Support the approvals, servicing, and funding steps required to advance Grey Road 19.
Municipal Approvals: Attend Town Hall sessions and planning consultations to keep the 192-bed project moving.
Provincial Advocacy: Ask Council, County, and provincial representatives to protect the allocation, recognize replacement demand, and pursue additional beds.
Without timely action, TBM risks losing existing local capacity while also missing the opportunity to secure the replacement and future beds its aging population will require.
