Can You Verify Your Parent's Retirement Home? It Depends Which Province You're In

One question, four different answers

"Is this home licensed?" is one of the first things a family should ask. How easy it is to answer depends almost entirely on the province.

In October 2026, Senior Care Path matched every published retirement, assisted living, memory care and independent living listing in four provinces against the official public register, by name and address. Each match now shows on the listing with a link to the register.

Ontario and Quebec: register by default

In Ontario, every retirement home must be licensed by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority, which publishes each home's licence status and inspection history. The register lists 777 currently licensed homes. Among retirement homes specifically, 420 of the 527 we list verify. The rest include homes we couldn't link by name and address, and homes that operate under a different model, so check those yourself.

Quebec certifies every private seniors' residence (RPA), and its public register lists 1,595 of them. That's why Quebec verifies best of all.

B.C. and Alberta: a gap built into the rules

The low B.C. figure isn't a sign of bad homes. B.C. registers assisted living, but a residence offering independent living with meals and housekeeping doesn't need to register, so many private retirement residences simply don't appear. Its registry lists 205 residences offering seniors' assisted living. Alberta licenses supportive living accommodations and publishes each one, so its lower share mostly reflects listings we couldn't match by name and address and seniors' apartments without services.

The result: in B.C. especially, a family can't check many residences the way they can in Ontario or Quebec.

What families should do

Check the register first, wherever it applies. Then ask any residence that isn't listed what it offers, who regulates its care services, and how complaints are handled. Our retirement home cost guide explains how to check an Ontario licence, and every listing on Senior Care Path now links to the right register when we've found a match. Start with retirement homes in your city.