The City of Brantford is well-advanced in achieving an age-friendly community. In 2015, Brantford City Council endorsed the Age-Friendly Community Planning Strategy and the City was awarded an Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat Grant to review corporate readiness for an aging population. In the report, City of Brantford Age-Friendly Custom Needs Assessment (2016), external consultants determined that the City’s “policies, programs, and initiatives across various municipal departments are intuitively addressing a range of age-friendly goals.”

The report highlighted Brantford’s Age-Friendly milestones, including:
• 50+ City-run activities specifically for older adults; over 2,700 adults with seniors memberships at City’s recreation facilities
• Free library programs for older adults on nutrition, fitness, and technology
• Free learning and digital literacy programs within priority neighbourhoods
• Age-Friendly City policies, including the Urban Design Guidelines, Facility Accessibility Design Standards, and the Accessibility Plan
• Increased number of affordable housing units for seniors and aging-in-place services
• Free events led by older adults in affordable housing sites
• Fully accessible transit and an increased number of specialized vehicles
• Targeted communication channels to engage older adults
• Customer Service and Accessibility Training mandated for all City Staff
• Free appointments for older adults at the Business Resource Centre

The Grand River Council on Aging (GRCOA) and Member of Provincial Parliament Dave Levac – in partnership with the City – hosted eight community summits to identify the needs of older adults. The results will inform an internal framework to track the City’s progress towards age-friendly milestones. The GRCOA also worked with the City to develop the community’s Master Aging Plan (2008).

Additional community seniors’ services include the Seniors’ Resource Centre, the Brant Public Health Unit, Seniors and Kids Intergenerational Program, the Alzheimer Society, New Horizons for Seniors, Canadian Association of Retired Persons, the Community Care Access Centres, the Grand River Community Health Centre, Brantford Native Housing, and Meals on Wheels.