ABSTRACT
Canadian older adults were particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation generated substantial media coverage, as well as government communications and academic research. Understanding how older adults and the aging process were framed during this health crisis is important knowing that the public discourse can have a significant influence on an individual’s personal experience of aging and relationships with older adults. More so, previous studies have shown that ageist stereotypes and attitudes are often conveyed through public discourse. Hence, the goal of this chapter is to understand how older adults and the process of aging were depicted by the Canadian media, academics, older adults as well as government representatives themselves through waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a critical content analysis of 110 documents show that the public discourse emphasized the vulnerability of older adults, precisely those in long term care facilities. More so, few older adults were given a voice in such discourse. Results are discussed in light of the prevalence of ageism within Western culture.
