New Survey - Accessibility: A source of future anxiety and a significant consideration for Canadian consumers today

January 22, 2019 – As Canada’s population grows older, millions of Canadians find themselves worrying about decreased mobility, vision and hearing and the impact it may have on their own lives or the lives of loved ones.

A new study from the Angus Reid Institute, conducted in partnership with the Rick Hansen Foundation, finds more than two-thirds of Canadians expressing concern that someone in their lives will face such challenges over the next decade or so.

Currently, approximately three-in-ten say that accessibility is a consideration for them when they’re thinking about which places they will go to and which they will avoid within their communities.

This evidently creates a significant consideration for businesses and service providers in planning accessibility infrastructure. Canadians voice widespread support for universal accessibility policy, particularly when it comes to new construction of buildings and homes.

It’s an issue Canadians anticipate will have a growing presence in their lives in the coming years. Roughly the same two-thirds who voice concern about a family member facing decreased mobility, vision, or hearing in the future say they have the same concern about themselves.