Ellie Maclennan

Canada currently faces two crises: climate change and population aging. Climate change poses numerous threats, but extreme heat and heat waves are particularly dangerous, and Canada has already seen deaths due to heat waves. Moreover, marginalized groups are more vulnerable to the impacts of extreme heat. Thus, the current study examined the impacts of heat waves on older adults in Ontario, Canada. This study used the 2021 Census, Ontario Climate Data Portal, and Ontario Marginalization Index data to locate census divisions across Ontario that show higher degrees of aging, marginalization, and heat wave period days. Results show only a small region of northwestern Ontario census divisions experience the most problematic overlap by these criteria. These regions are rural and home to more Indigenous communities. These findings suggest this methodology could be useful for targeting high-risk aging communities for effective climate change management.