A team working through the Community Development Institute (CDI) at the University of Northern British Columbia recently completed a project looking at the housing and support service needs of older residents in Mackenzie, BC. The purpose was to provide the community with information relevant to local planning and infrastructure investments.

In Mackenzie, as in many resource towns across northern BC, a population that was dominated by young families has aged in place over the past 25 years to the point where many people are now thinking of retiring in town.

It is estimated that Mackenzie’s over age 65 population will grow by 100 to 300 people by 2011. Most of these people will have lived in Mackenzie for a long time and will chose to stay because of family, friends, and a local sense of community. To meet their needs as they age, Mackenzie will need to think about the challenges of providing housing and support services to older residents. “Improving access to health care and re-orienting existing community programs and services to support seniors’ aging-in-place are going to be major priorities in Mackenzie’s future,” according to researcher Neil Hanlon.

“Most of the new retirees in Mackenzie over the next decade will be under age 75 and will be active and healthy,” says Greg Halseth, acting Director of the CDI and a Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies. “This gives the community some lead time during which they can prepare for higher levels of service needs as this population ages.”

The research was conducted in partnership with the District of Mackenzie and was also supported by UNBC's Northern Land Use Institute. Copies of the reports have been distributed to the District, the local library and community organizations, and are available on Greg Halseth's website at:

            http://web.unbc.ca/geography/faculty/greg/print_research.shtml