SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Nursing Home Without Walls
October 8, 2026
Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to a New Brunswick innovation that is revolutionizing the way Canadians age: Nursing Home Without Walls.
Evidence-based and developed in 2019 by Dr. Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard and her team at the Université de Moncton, Nursing Home Without Walls hires additional staff while benefiting from the expertise and space inside our nursing homes and extends them out into the community so older adults can stay in their homes longer.
The concept is simple, but the results speak for themselves. In the pilot evaluation of 375 older adults, 97.2% said staying home for as long as possible mattered deeply to them, and by the program’s end, 97.9% would recommend it to others.
One participant said it best when she stated that, even though she did not know what to do in an emergency, she knew that Nursing Home Without Walls would know what to do. She described the program as a lifesaver. Honourable senators, this is exactly what a good social innovation looks like. It isn’t flashy, but it changes the lives of those who need it most.
What started as a small pilot in four New Brunswick communities — Lamèque, Inkerman, Paquetville and Port Elgin — has grown to 39 nursing homes across our province. And New Brunswick’s success is no longer staying within our borders. Healthcare Excellence Canada is now partnering with Université de Moncton to spread this model across the country, with jurisdictional partners in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan already building their own versions of what was started in New Brunswick.
Honourable senators, New Brunswick is leading the way for Canada when it comes to addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to help our aging population live with dignity, independence and solidarity. This once again proves that our province is Canada’s innovation playground, the place where good ideas take root and grow into models that the rest of the country wants to follow.
I want to thank Dr. Dupuis-Blanchard and everyone involved in Nursing Home Without Walls for this remarkable contribution to seniors’ care in New Brunswick and beyond. And thanks to all the innovators who were here with us last night at the New Brunswick Research & Innovation Showcase and to all of you who attended. Thank you, wela’lin.
