RC120 SeptOct 2025 - Magazine - Page 20
HEALTHCARE
BUILDING SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Meeting Canada’s long-term care needs through P3s
by John Tenpenny
URING A RECENT WEBINAR hosted by ReNew Canada—with
support from Accuracy Canada—a panel of experts
discussed how Canada can meet the challenge
of scaling long-term care facility build projects to
ensure our growing elderly population can age in
safety with as much independence as possible.
D
Canada’s long-term care sector has faced a reputational
challenge. Domestic, institutional investors don’t always
participate due to perceived risks and attitudes about
profiting from elderly care. What are the key factors we
need to address to attract private capital into this space
and how can we better demonstrate the stability and
long-term value of these investments?
MELISSA DI MARCO (ACCURACY CANADA): I believe the key to attracting private capital really lies in reframing long-term care.
It’s educating the population to understand that long-term
care is a necessity. It is not just essential infrastructure,
but it is important to the balance of our social needs as
a nation. So, what does that mean? It’s stable, long-term
cash 昀氀ows, tied to government payments that could make
projects far less volatile than originally perceived and
there is a balance in order to get there. There is a balance
in what private capital can bring to the market and what
public initiative and policy can bring to the table to make
these projects more viable.
John Tenpenny is the
Editor of ReNew Canada.
RALPH DESANDO (YORKVILLE ASSET MANAGEMENT): Our group owns
and operates over 60 long-term care homes in Ontario and
our challenges over the last 13 years echo what Melissa
said.
Long-term care has never been seen as essential social
infrastructure. With respect to gaining investment for this
20—RENEW CANADA – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025
sector there have been issues around reputational risks of being associated with long-term
care investment. Taking that one step further,
to this day, not every Canadian bank lends to
the long-term care sector, which is surprising.
I think the messaging at all levels of governments, not just the provincial government, but
the messaging from the federal level should be
that investing in this sector both from public
and private sources is bene昀椀cial for everyone
and that it can be done so that we are achieving
the enhancements in improving elderly care,
we’re achieving the 昀椀scal responsibility that we
need to achieve as a government, and such that
all parties are successful.
THE PANEL:
MELISSA DI MARCO
Partner, Global Co-lead for
Energy & Infrastructure,
Accuracy Canada
RALPH DESANDO,
Deputy CEO – Alternative Investments,
Yorkville Asset Management Inc.
SEAN MORLEY,
Partner, Infrastructure & Projects,
Fasken
