Caregiving across borders: Supporting transnational caregivers in Canada

With 26.4% of all Canadians being first-generation immigrants, caregiving can and often does transcend borders. Loved ones will often still be in their home countries, and this can make providing care more challenging. For most people who are transnational caregivers, this type of care can be especially difficult. Caregiving is already strenuous, and adding distance creates even more financial, emotional, and psychological challenges. This blog will explore what supporting transnational caregivers in Canada looks like and the challenges they face.

What is a Transnational Caregiver?

Transnational caregivers are individuals who live and work in Canada while providing care and support to family members in their country of origin. This care can take many forms, from providing financial support and coordinating medical care from afar to making regular trips back home to provide care.

These caregivers manage responsibilities in two countries: their families, jobs, and daily life in Canada, while ensuring their loved ones abroad receive the care and support they need.

What are the challenges Transnational Caregivers face in Canada?

Financial Burden

The financial costs of transnational caregiving can be a lot more than usual. In addition to regular caregiving expenses, transnational caregivers often have extra costs, such as international travel, regular payments to cover living expenses and medical bills, communication expenses, and the impact of currency exchanges. These financial pressures are compounded by the lack of recognition or financial support for this type of caregiving, meaning caregivers bear these costs entirely on their own.

Emotional and Psychological Toll

The emotional toll of transnational caregiving is significant. Caregivers are constantly worried about not being physically present, especially during emergencies. They may experience feelings of helplessness, guilt, and anticipatory grief knowing that they might miss the final moments or significant milestones. In some cultures, caring for elderly loved ones is considered a duty and part of one’s role as a child. Being unable to fulfill this role can have severe emotional and psychological impacts on children, who may feel like failures or disappointments for struggling to care for their parents or elders.

This burden is often worsened by a lack of understanding from healthcare providers who may not recognize transnational caregiving as “real” caregiving since the care recipient is not physically present, when in reality it’s just as challenging to manage.

Workplace and Coordination Challenges

Transnational caregivers face unique workplace challenges, such as coordinating care across time zones, the possibility of taking extended leave for emergencies abroad, and fearing disclosure due to concerns about how they’re perceived in the workplace. Many workplace policies focus on local caregiving, leaving transnational caregivers without formal accommodations.

Coordinating care across borders presents additional logistical challenges, such as navigating foreign healthcare systems, possibly overcoming language barriers when communicating with providers, having difficulty obtaining timely information, and managing legal and administrative matters across different jurisdictions.

What are some ways we can help Transnational Caregivers?

Increase Awareness and Recognition

The first step is acknowledging the existence of transnational caregivers and the unique challenges they face, as many Canadians don’t identify themselves as caregivers in the first place. This requires education that targets employers and healthcare providers, the use of inclusive language in caregiving definitions, and the inclusion of transnational caregivers’ voices in policy discussions and advocacy efforts.

Financial Support

It is critical to address the financial burden. This could entail expanding eligibility for caregiver tax credits to cover transnational caregiving expenses or establishing grants or subsidies to support travel and communication costs for international caregiving needs. Additionally, supporting organizations that help family caregivers in Canada can provide caregivers across the country with financial assistance, while also raising awareness about the crucial role they play in Canadian society.

Community Support and Resources

Connecting with others who understand can be invaluable. Creating peer support groups both online and in person can help transnational caregivers share experiences, providing a much-needed sense of connection in a role that often feels invisible. Culturally specific support services, multilingual information resources about coordinating care across borders, and access to culturally sensitive mental health counselling can help mitigate the emotional challenges of long-distance caregiving.

Conclusion

Transnational caregivers embody resilience. They support loved ones across borders while building lives in Canada, navigating complex challenges along the way. Their contributions to their families and to Canadian society deserve recognition and support.

By understanding the unique challenges they face and taking concrete steps to address them, we can help ease their burden and ensure they don’t have to navigate this journey alone. Caregivers deserve our recognition, respect, and support, whether care is provided in person or from thousands of kilometres away.