The community of Sault Ste. Marie faces an ageing population, with 35% of citizens being over 60 years of age in 2018, rising to 41% by 2028. The growing population of ageing citizens, along with the critical need for social services, healthcare and sufficient community infrastructure, has led to Mayor Amaroso’s call for Sault Ste. Marie to enhance and develop more age-friendly facilities and services for its residents. The Age-Friendly City project follows a locally-driven, “bottom-up” approach which focuses on the experience of older people; what is and what is not “age-friendly” and what can be done to improve their community.

Currently, Sault Ste. Marie is assessing the city’s “age-friendliness”. This assessment is the first step in a five-year process in which Sault Ste. Marie takes necessary steps to incorporate age-friendly initiatives in to its strategic plan. A steering committee and a number of sub-committees have been formed to move this process forward, with key stakeholders and field-related professionals offering their expertise and advice in the initiative. There are four phases in the initial assessment. Each phase focuses on two different areas identified by the World Health Organization. The city-wide assessment was conducted through a number of focus groups and surveys, and ‘Phase One: Age-Friendly Sault Ste. Marie’ report was presented to the city council in August 2012. This phase saw the assessment of the housing, community and health services in Sault Ste. Marie. The report was then circulated to the appropriate departments for their incorporation of the assessment into their future action plans. The Phase Two report, assessing transportation and outdoor spaces and buildings, was presented to the council in January 2013, while the Phase Three report on respect and social inclusion and social participation was brought before the council in May 2013. Phase Four, the final report in the assessment, will be followed by a comprehensive report of the assessment explaining, in detail, the information that has been gathered (trends, gaps in services, suggestions, etc).