On February 24, 2026, Ontario announced new dementia-care investments in long-term care: the first 17 homes in the new Improving Dementia Care Program (IDCP), plus funding to expand Behavioural Specialized Units (BSUs) with up to 153 new BSU beds in five homes. Part of the announcement discusses the implementation of emotion-based models of care.
“Emotion-based care” sounds impressive. It shouldn’t.
Emotion-based dementia care is being described like a new model of care. But it isn’t revolutionary. It isn’t rocket science. It is basic human decency packaged as a program. It means care that looks less like an institution moving residents through a schedule, and more like a home supporting residents to live safely and meaningfully.
Emotion-based care, stripped of branding, is a simple idea: people living with dementia are still people. They have unique wants and needs.
The announcement is, plainly, good news. Dementia affects a large number of long-term care residents, and any serious investment in improving daily life is worth celebrating. At the same time, many families hearing it will wonder why it took this long to recognize the humanity of people with dementia.
Will these investments make a difference?
The reality is that many of the “care problems” families witness in long-term care are not mysteries. They are resource problems.
If the investment results in wonderful behavioural support recommendations that staff do not have the time to acually implement, then the program will not live up to its potential.
Families see staff who are trying—often sincerely—but are stretched thin. They see the resident who needs help eating, but meals are rushed because feeding takes too long. They see residents wearing unchanged diapers for unacceptably long times because there are too few hands available. They see residents moved on a schedule that makes operational sense but may not make human sense. And they see distress rise (in residents and families) when what is missing is the time to treat people with dignity.
Training and specialized supports can be genuinely helpful. Better approaches to communication, de-escalation, and understanding unmet needs can change outcomes and these are all welcome additions to long-term care. But training alone does not expand time. For example, training cannot give staff more time to build rapport with someone who is frightened before being asked to undress and shower, even if the training helps the staff appreciate how important that step is.
If IDCP and BSU expansion bring real capacity then residents may experience less distress and families may experience less conflict.
What do families need to know?
For families trying to understand what any of this means in real life, the most important question is not what the program is called or how many millions are being invested. It is what will change on the floor, on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon, when a resident is anxious, or refusing care, or struggling to eat, or needing comfort. If this funding leads to better staffing and more individualized support, families will feel it. If it results mainly in training sessions or recommendations that don’t change daily routines, families likely won’t.
It is also reasonable for families to expect transparency. Is their home participating? What is the criteria for admission to a BSU bed? Can a resident transfer from another home to a BSU bed and if so, what is the waitlist process?
Conclusion
Ontario’s announcement deserves recognition because it signals attention and investment in an area that has needed it for a long time. The number of Ontarians with dementia is only growing and the time is now to ensure that long-term care homes are well-equipped.
But emotion-based care should be the floor, not the ceiling.
through a difficult time?
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