Caregiving in Quebec: the numbers
This page presents the most recent statistics regarding caregiving in Quebec. These findings are drawn from the 2024–2025 Quebec Survey on Caregiver Health and Well-being, conducted by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).
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If you would like to speak with a professional specializing in caregiving regarding a difficult situation, obtain referrals, or ask questions, contact the Caregiver Support Service at L’Appui.
To find community resources offering caregiving information and support near you, consult l’Appui’s Resource Directory or Proche aidance Québec's list of member organizations (in French only).
Who are Quebec’s caregivers?
27,3 %
More than one-quarter (27.3%) of Quebecers aged 15 and up are caregivers—that’s over two million people.
Less than half (46.1%) see themselves as “caregivers.”
54,2 %
identify as women
45,8 %
identify as men
33,8 %
live with the person(s) they support
18,2 %
were born outside of Canada
13,4 %
are aged 15 –29
21,4 %
are aged 30–44
40,1 %
are aged 45–64
25,1 %
are aged 65 and up
Most caregivers (59%) are employed, while 28.2% are retired and 7.1% are students.
What kinds of support do they provide?
Types of support provided during the 30 days preceding the survey:
83,6 %
Emotional/psychological
69,9 %
Transportation
58,5 %
Household chores
50,1 %
Assistance with meals
48,5 %
Care and service coordination
41,4 %
Administrative/financial management
38 %
Social activities
30,1 %
Medical care
28,2 %
Personal care
Note: Caregivers often reported providing more than one form of support. Accordingly, the percentages do not necessarily add up to 100%.
Hours of caregiving provided per week in the 30 days preceding the survey
60,8%
of caregivers spent between one and four hours per week providing care
10,4%
y passent spent 20 hours
Women caregivers were more likely than men to provide 20 or more hours of care per week.
Who do these caregivers support?
support a parent
support a partner or spouse
support a friend
support a child
support a sibling
support a parent-in-law
(neighbour, colleague, acquaintance, etc.)
Note: Some caregivers support more than one person. As a result, more than one caregiving relationship may be reported, and the percentages do not necessarily add up to 100%.
Caregivers are most likely to support at least one person aged 65 or older (70.8%).
How are caregivers doing?
17,1 %
Close to one in five caregivers (17.1%) rated their mental health as fair or poor.
Caregivers who live with the person they care for were less likely to report very good or excellent overall health (45.3%) than those who live apart from the person they care for (57.1%).
Women were less likely than men to rate their mental health as very good or excellent (47.8% vs. 59.8%).
Young caregivers (ages 15 to 29) were the group most likely to report feeling often or always lonely (21.5%).
Do caregivers know about and use support services?
Most were unaware of the available services:
-
- 51.8% did not know about home help services
- 63.8% did not know about psychological support resources
- 68.3% did not know about respite services
Few caregivers reported using these services in the 12 months preceding the survey
-
- 11.3% used home help services
- 10.1% used psychological support resources
- 4.3% used respite services
To explore this section further
Definitions of caregiving
The five dimensions of caregiving
