Ways To Meet Singles Over 60 In Canada

Meeting new people gets harder as you get older, especially once you've finished working or moved to a new town. It's worth the effort though, for your head as much as your heart. Here are ten ways for Canadians over 60 to meet other over 60s, online dating included:

• Join A Probus Club

  Probus is the one most people haven't heard of until somebody drags them along, and then they wonder why they waited. There are around 250 clubs across the country with more than 35,000 members, all of them retired or semi-retired. A typical club meets monthly for a guest speaker and a coffee, then runs its own smaller interest groups on the side: hiking, theatre outings, cycling, dining out. There's no fundraising obligation and nobody expects you to run anything, which is rather the point of it.

• Try The Local Seniors Centre

  Nearly every municipality has one, though the name varies. Seniors centre, older adult centre, active living centre, 55+ club. Whatever it's called, you'll find drop-in programs, fitness classes, lunches, card afternoons, day trips and a room full of people who live nearby. Two useful things to know: most set the door at 55 rather than 65, and most cost very little. If you can't find yours, dial 2-1-1, which is free, confidential and will point you at what's running in your area.

• Get Down To The Legion

  Worth saying clearly, because a lot of people assume otherwise: you do not have to be a veteran to join the Royal Canadian Legion. Membership is open to any Canadian citizen aged 18 or over. There are roughly 1,350 branches, and a branch hall is one of the friendliest and cheapest places going for a meal, a dance or a night out with company. 2026 is the Legion's centenary year and new members can join free, which is as good a nudge as you'll get.

• Take A Lifelong Learning Course

  If your smartphone still gets the better of you, or you'd just like to learn something for the sake of it, look at what's running locally. Most colleges and universities run continuing studies courses with no exams and no grades. In Ontario there's the Third Age Network, which supports peer-led learning groups for older adults across the province. Whatever the format, you spend a couple of hours a week with people who chose the same subject you did, which is a decent head start on a conversation.

• Walk A Piece Of The Trans Canada Trail

  The Trans Canada Trail runs to more than 30,000 kilometres, which makes it the longest trail network in the world, and a fair bit of it is flat, well surfaced and close to town. Walking clubs are everywhere: Hike Ontario alone has thirty odd member clubs, and the Bruce Trail's local chapters publish their hike schedules online. If you'd rather start small, parkrun holds free timed five kilometre events on Saturday mornings at dozens of Canadian locations, and you're perfectly welcome to walk it.

• Join A Men's Shed

  Men's Sheds Canada has over 200 Sheds across ten provinces now. A Shed is a workshop where men turn up, build and fix things, and talk while they're doing it. Their own phrase for it is shoulder to shoulder, on the reasoning that men often find it easier to talk sideways over a workbench than face to face over a table. Members call themselves Shedders. If you'd rather make something than sit in a circle discussing it, this is your kind of room.

• Get On The Ice, Or The Court

  Curling is the great Canadian social sport for exactly this age group. Every club has a lounge, the post-game drink is practically part of the rules, and senior leagues run all winter. If ice isn't your thing, pickleball has swept the country. Around 1.8 million Canadians now play, it's easy on the knees compared with tennis, and the courts are full of people who took it up in their sixties. Lawn bowling, shuffleboard and darts all still thrive at seniors centres too.

• Join A Book Club At The Library

  Public libraries run book clubs and writers' groups as free programs, and plenty meet during the day, which suits retirees. If a full club sounds too much like homework, look for a book chat or a one-off author talk instead. You'll get a decent read out of it and a decent conversation.

• Volunteer For Something

  Volunteering puts you alongside people who care about the same thing you do, which beats trying to make conversation from a standing start. VolunteerConnector and your local volunteer centre will match you to something nearby. A great many local seniors' groups exist because of a federal New Horizons for Seniors grant, and most of them are short of hands. Take on as much or as little as suits you.

• Online Dating

  Last of the ten, and worth a go. Sites built for older Canadians, like Singles Over 60, keep it simple, because everyone's in the same age bracket and everyone's there for the same reason. You can search, send a message and take as long as you like before meeting anybody in person. Put some effort into your profile, use a recent photo, say what you're actually after, and accept the coffee invitation when it feels right. Meet somewhere public the first time and tell somebody where you're going.

Whichever one you pick, it works the same way: turning up more than once is what turns strangers into people you know. Most groups are happy for you to come along and try it before you commit to anything, and if the first one isn't for you, there are nine others on this page.

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