There’s no two ways about it: the country’s population is aging at a never-before-seen rate. In 2023, nearly one in five Canadians was considered a senior—and it’s a demographic that shows no sign of slowing in growth.
That’s why companies that service the needs of seniors are increasing in popularity. Not only is the market expanding, but it’s also a relatively low-cost investment, as a brick-and-mortar location usually isn’t required. Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) member brands can help fill this gap, offering a wide range of options for those looking to invest in a proven business model.
From in-home care to moving services, the following pages explore some of the many opportunities available to entrepreneurs who are eager to start their own business while giving back to the community. Find more information on these brands and others by visiting LookforaFranchise.ca.
Always Best Care Senior Services
Founded in 1996, Always Best Care Senior Services has continued to expand across the U.S. and Canada, offering non-medical in-home care services and assisted living placements. The company has opened 225 locations in the U.S. since it began offering franchises in 2007 and currently counts three Canadian franchisees among its ranks.
Being new to the Canadian franchise industry, Always Best Care has many territories still available to interested partners and ensures that all franchisees receive a protected territory. To further set their location apart from other businesses, and for multiple streams of revenue, franchisees may also opt to provide services such as skilled nursing and assisted living referrals, which helps improve client retention.
Learn more about franchising with Always Best Care Senior Services
Comfort Keepers
Comfort Keepers began its franchise journey in 1998 under the guidance of founder and registered nurse Kris Butler. Now available in 13 countries worldwide and with more than 700 locations, including 39 in Canada, the franchise continues to live up to its mission to elevate the human spirit through its in-home care services.
Since opening its first Canadian office in 2004, Comfort Keepers has expanded from coast to coast. The award-winning brand supports its franchise partners with ongoing support, resources, and a comprehensive training program delivered by its dedicated Canadian team. It has also partnered with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to provide extra support to clients with vision loss through specialty caregiver training.
Learn more about franchising with Comfort Keepers
FirstLight HomeCare
With more than 250 U.S. locations and nine in Canada, FirstLight HomeCare has been offering non-medical and medical home care since 2020.
Caregiver retention is at the top of FirstLight HomeCare’s list of priorities, which it achieves through a detailed set of franchisee supports that ensure its partners are equipped to succeed. These supports include a six- to eight-hour orientation training, seven check-ins within the first 30 days, and a series of 16 criteria to match clients to caregivers, helping to create lasting relationships between staff and customers.
Learn more about franchising with FirstLight HomeCare
Heart to Home Meals
With 19 franchise locations across Canada, Heart to Home Meals excels in delivering flavourful, nutrient-dense frozen meals to the senior demographic.
Operating a robust North American food manufacturing facility, the company produces over 100,000 kilograms weekly for the North American market. With a 60-year history in the industry, this family-owned enterprise turns over $1 billion in sales annually. The success of Heart to Home Meals proves to be an invaluable asset for franchisees, offering a reliable and stalwart franchisor on which they can rely.
The company supports franchisees with bespoke start-up plans, ongoing assistance, and national advertising, solidifying their position in the booming senior population and at-home food delivery sector. With franchise opportunities in B.C., Ontario, and New Brunswick, Heart to Home Meals stands as an attractive option for entrepreneurs entering this thriving market.
Learn more about franchising with Heart To Home Meals
Home Instead
Home Instead works with 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises in 13 countries, including 48 in Canada and more than 600 in the U.S. Together, since the company’s founding in 1994, they have provided nearly 100 million hours of home care service to older adults.
The company uses a nine-step process to determine if a candidate is a good fit for the brand, and whether the potential franchisee feels Home Instead ownership is for them. Home Instead currently has hundreds of new territories available across North America, as well as resale franchises for purchase. Franchises can often be opened within three to 12 months.
Learn more about franchising with Home Instead
Just Like Family Home Care
For those interested in a fulfilling career in the senior care industry, Just Like Family Home Care, a reputable franchise with almost 15 years of dedicated service and recipient of CFA’s 2023 Franchisees’ Choice designation, can help.
Since 2022, Just Like Family has been under new management overseen by impact investors, with over half being charities, adding a compassionate touch to its operations and connecting its franchisees with diverse and engaged audiences. Prime territories are available in locations across the country for further access to this growing market.
Top-performing franchisees are provided the opportunity to expand their reach and maximize their earning potential. The company prioritizes support and quality assurance, providing access to senior care specialists and streamlined onboarding procedures.
Learn more about franchising with Just Like Family Home Care
Mobile Senior Shop
Founded in 2015, Mobile Senior Shop revolutionizes the shopping experience for seniors by blending convenience with a touch of social enjoyment. Specializing in face-to-face transactions, the brand showcases a diverse selection of men’s and women’s apparel. Each year, Mobile Senior Shop brings its distinctive pop-up shopping events to over 200 retirement communities throughout southern Ontario, creating a marketplace right at the senior’s doorstep.
Mobile Senior Shop is seeking franchise partners in new markets who are hands-on and share the company’s commitment to enhancing the lives of seniors. This unique business model provides entrepreneurial flexibility, allowing partners to grow their business at their desired pace while being supported by comprehensive on-site training, supplier relationships, and sales transaction technology during each pop-up event.
Learn more about franchising with Mobile Senior Shop
ONESource Moving Solutions for Seniors, Professionals and Families
ONESource Moving Solutions provides entrepreneurs a unique business opportunity in a rapidly growing industry, with professional move managers who excel in planning, coordinating, and organizing every detail of their clients’ moving processes. Launched in 2008, the company has opened four Canadian locations since its founding and strives to equip its franchisees with all the support they need.
ONESource’s hands-on approach to the franchisor-franchisee relationship helps guide its franchisees to success while making a positive impact on the lives of its clients. Resources supplied to franchisees include one week of intensive, on-the-job training; the option to have company representatives shadow the first move; a strong ongoing support system; training for franchisees to adeptly navigate and thrive amidst consistent business and environmental changes; and more.
Learn more about franchising with ONESource Moving Solutions for Seniors, Professionals and Families
Qualicare
One of Franchise Business Review’s top-rated franchises, Qualicare offers a high-return investment with a low start-up cost. After being in business for more than 20 years, with more than 40 Canadian locations, this home care agency prides itself on its 360-degree service approach that benefits clients and partners alike.
Franchisee support is offered pre-launch, throughout the initial start-up phase, and as the business continues to grow. Territories are available in every Canadian province, and seven out of 10 existing franchisees own more than one territory due to their success in the industry and area, signalling potential success for future owners.
Learn more about franchising with Qualicare
Right at Home Canada
A four-year recipient of the CFA Award of Excellence and reflected on The Globe and Mail’s “Top 400 Fastest Growing Companies,” Right at Home Canada is an experienced in-home care service provider that empowers its franchisees to succeed through various ownership models and in-depth, hands-on support. Right at Home Canada is part of one of the largest global networks of home care offices with 650-plus international locations and 57 Canadian locations.
The company’s owner training is a co-operative method, and it strives to learn alongside its franchisees as they run their offices. As a benefit, Right at Home Canada’s corporate contracts often drive passive revenue to franchisee’s territories, and its program offers work-life balance, with 24/7 administrative, scheduling, and phone management. This allows for around-the-clock business while involving the owner as much or as little as they wish and protects owners’ family time during the evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Learn more about franchising with Right at Home Canada
Senior Helpers
Senior Helpers offers a highly effective business framework, making it an ideal choice for newcomers to the franchise sector, especially since it requires no prior experience in home care or health care. Since its inception as a single agency in 2002, the brand has successfully expanded into the Canadian market in 2016 and now boasts over 345 franchises worldwide. This growth is supported by a comprehensive training program and consistent support, ensuring franchisees are fully prepared to develop and manage their operations effectively.
Franchisees benefit from extensive marketing, sales, and continuous training opportunities, including visits to the brand’s main office, creating a holistic support model that promotes the mutual success of the company, the individual franchise owners, and their clients. Moreover, the available franchise territories include some of Ontario’s largest and most affluent markets, presenting an attractive opportunity for business growth and a significant impact on the community.
Learn more about franchising with Senior Helpers
Stallion Movers
Stallion Movers opened its doors in 2015 with the goal of providing top-notch moving services to its customers and a foundation of support and trust to its franchisees. Staff, also known as “relocation experts” or “work horses,” are trained to follow the brand’s “Gold Standards of Moving” throughout all stages of customer service.
Partnerships with seniors’ homes and retirement facilities help to further the footprint of franchisees and ensure ongoing clientele. Franchises are currently in operation in several Ontario metropolises, including the Kitchener-Waterloo area, with many other territories available for interested partners.
Learn more about franchising with Stallion Movers
Tranquil Care Franchising Inc
Tranquil Care Franchising focuses not only on in-home care but also on fulfilling the staffing needs of hospitals, retirement homes, and other care facilities. Since 2013, the company has been an expert in multi-facility staffing solutions, supplying highly trained personnel such as nurses and personal support workers to organizations and individuals who require hands-on care and support.
For franchisees, Tranquil Care offers start-up support and the backing of a recognized national brand. Those interested in entering one of the brand’s identified key markets of expansion will find success in the health care and support staffing industry if they possess management or sales experience and exhibit the desire to forge long-lasting relationships.
Learn more about franchising with Tranquil Care Franchising
Transition Squad Downsizing Services
Operating in the niche downsizing industry, Transition Squad Downsizing Services has been serving clients since 2006. Its array of services—including the organization, selling, and donation of goods—deliver peace of mind to seniors and others who are making the transition to smaller housing, a retirement home, or assisted living facility, or to family members dealing with a loved one’s estate.
Transition Squad’s head office helps dispatch incoming inquiries to franchisees, while also assisting in lead generation through SEO and referrals from professionals such as realtors, probate lawyers, and advertisements. Customers are also vetted by Transition Squad prior to being forwarded to their local franchisees, further increasing the odds of attaining new clients and reducing the time needed to secure sales.
Learn more about franchising with Transition Squad Downsizing Services
A Booming Opportunity
Why consider a seniors services franchise? The numbers paint an important picture:
- Between 2017 and 2037, it’s estimated that the number of citizens in each province aged 75 years and older will multiply by two to nearly six times their current size.
- By 2046, the population of Canadians aged 85 and older is on track to triple, meaning that almost 2.5 million people will likely need in-home support and other services to help them live a comfortable, quality life.
- According to Statistics Canada, the country is home to almost 13,500 people who have blown out 100 candles on their birthday cake, an increase of 43 per cent since 2018.
- The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, 17 per cent of the global population will be over the age of 60. This will balloon to more than two billion people in this age category by 2050.