The face of health care in Canada is changing. Shorter hospital stays, more outpatient treatment and an aging population with longer life expectancy are increasing the need for long-term care for many Canadians. Moreover, the demand for long-term care in Canada will increase dramatically as the baby boomer generation passes through old age. As a result, Canada is facing a significant and growing challenge with respect to ensuring that Canadians will have access to quality long-term care as they age. This paper examines the future cost of long-term care in Canada over the next 35 years to support the baby boomers as they pass through old age and concludes that a significant funding gap exists. Engaging in structural reform to transition patients to the most appropriate long-term care setting will not only enhance patient care, but will generate significant efficiency savings to governments of over $139 billion. These savings can then be re-invested into other long-term care initiatives to further improve patient care and address the funding shortfall. To this end, this paper proposes a number of recommendations organized around the following themes: encouraging Canadians to save for long-term care; patient centered approach to long-term care; restructuring of long-term care to recognize the continuum of care; ensuring sufficient capacity of long-term care; and encouraging health and wellness promotion.