80 Is The New 60: Aging Well In The 21st Century

Jordann Thirgood
Wednesday, February 4, 2026

This lecture will discuss findings of the CSA Public Policy Centre’s research and engagement on the future of aging in Canada. Our recent report Aging Canada 2040: Policy Implications of Demographic Change explores the impacts of population aging and applies a foresight model to understand how trends could play out in possible future scenarios between now and 2040. This project entailed horizon scanning research, workshops with experts to co-develop scenarios, and a representative survey of 2,500 Canadians. Following the release of the report, we convened nearly 200 people to further explore innovative approaches to building a future that Canadians want to see. Our research reveals the potential for significant disparities in health outcomes, financial security, and social inclusion among older adults in the absence of thoughtful policy reform. As policymakers look ahead to 2040, they should consider taking a whole-of-government approach that reimagines where we age, transforms our understanding of health, safely leverages technology, prioritizes equity, and embraces the valuable contributions of older adults.

Jordann Thirgood is Manager of Public Policy at the CSA Group, where she leads research projects at the CSA Public Policy Centre including recent work on healthcare, disability, and the future of aging in Canada. Prior to joining CSA, Jordann held policy positions both inside and outside of government, advising on social, economic and regulatory issues. Jordann’s work has been published by academic journals, media outlets and research institutions. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Toronto and serves on the Board of Directors of Breakaway Community Services.

Dr. Samir K. Sinha, MD, Dphil, FRCPC, FRSM, FCAHS, AGSF
Wednesday, February 18, 2026

*Note: This lecture will be held virtually with Dr. Sinha, zoomed into St. Paul's and livestreamed.  We encourage folks who are able to attend in person for the social and refreshments! 

In this fun and interactive session Dr. Sinha will help participants to test their knowledge of ageing issues and how we think about ageing as well.  Useful information and the latest evidence around healthy ageing will be presented that can help provide practical tips on things we all can do to prevent or delay dementia and remain healthy and independent for as long as possible.  This talk is focused on how we can all better tackle ageing with greater confidence and improve our ‘healthspans’ too. 

Dr. Samir Sinha is a Geriatrician and Clinician Scientist at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, the Director of Health Policy Research at Toronto Metropolitan University’s National Institute on Ageing, as well as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Medicine.

A Rhodes Scholar, Samir is a highly regarded clinician and international expert in the care of older adults. As a former member of the Government of Canada’s National Seniors Council and a current member of its Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia he helped to develop and now oversee Canada’s National Dementia Strategy and recently led the successful development of Canada’s new National Long-Term Care Services Standard. 

Internationally, he serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales.  Furthermore, as a longstanding member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and a recently appointed member of the Board of Trustees for HelpAge International, he remains committed to supporting the implementation and administration of unique, integrated and innovative models of geriatric care and support that reduce disease burden, improve access and capacity and ultimately promote health.

Cathrin Bradbury
Wednesday, March 4, 2026

What does it mean to make a major shift later in life? To retire, but not really. To go from middle aged to “young-old,” parenting to grandparenting, working for others for a living to finding a new vocation. Cathrin Bradbury will talk about how to forge your own map to the road ahead at the ¾ life mark. She will tell us what it means to make a major change later in life, not to stepping back into seclusion and retirement -- but forward to new possibility and a vibrant way of being in the world. 

Cathrin Bradbury spent decades shaping other people’s stories, as a top editor and leader of major news organizations and magazines for 40 years, including The Globe and Mail, CBCNEWS, and Maclean’s. Then, she did something much harder. She started telling her own. In the past five years, since her “retirement” Cathrin Bradbury had written two books: The Bright Side and This Way Up: Old Friends, New Love, and a Map for the Road Ahead, both published by Penguin Random House. She is a regular contributor to major Canadian media, including The Walrus magazine, where her “The End of Retirement” was nominated for a National Magazine Award; and The Toronto Star, where she writes a column called “The 3/4 Life Crisis.”