About the Project

The research reported on this website is part of a five year Insight grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).  The project, entitled “Precarity and Aging: Unequal Experiences in Contemporary Late Life” (Grenier, PI, 2016-2021) draws on different methods to understand and account for precarious trajectories in relation to  contemporary  aging,  expected  life  course transitions and dominant success-based models of aging in Canada. Based in Southern Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia (CA) and England, (UK) we explore precarity and aging through the bridging of conceptual work on  vulnrerablity, risk  and  exclusion, with the identification of research-based trends, in-depth qualitative interviews, and policy analysis. We ultimately want to evaluate precarity and  inequality and the interplay between structures, relationships, and experiences to determine the best ways to mitigate precarity in late life; identify challenges; articulate supports; and suggest changes in order to assess features of local, provincial, national, and international policies.

Research Methods

In collaboration with four locations, Southern Ontario ( Hamilton/London), Quebec (Montreal), British Columbia (Victoria, Vancouver) and England (Manchester) we use the following methods to examine precarious aging:

  • Conceptual scoping reviews on issues related to precarious aging (disability, risk, migration status)
  • Analysis of policy documents, statistics and administrative data
  • In depth stakeholder interviews with community service providers
  • Interviews with older people at three locations of precarity (with low income, aging with disabilities and who are foreign born)
  • Policy review and content analysis of documents