In 2007, the WHO released a guide to help cities become more age-friendly (WHO, 2007). The guide was based on research from 33 cities around the world. In each city, focus groups were held with seniors, caregivers of seniors, and service providers (professional staff in public municipal or regional services, business people, and representatives from voluntary organizations) to identify specific features of what makes the city age-friendly, focusing on the eight age-friendly areas: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; respect and inclusion; social participation; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community supports and health services.

The City of Portage la Prairie in Manitoba was one of the cities involved in the initiative, with Verena Menec as the research lead. Results from the focus groups held in Portage la Prairie were provided to the WHO and, along with those from the other cities, incorporated into the Age-Friendly Cities Guide. A report was also produced for and shared with Portage la Prairie (Menec, 2007).

In parallel with the WHO cities project, Canada launched an Age-Friendly Rural/Remote Communities (population < 5000) initiative to reflect the Canadian reality, with the initiative being sponsored by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors. Paralleling the WHO Age-Friendly Cities project, this initiative's aims were to identify what makes communities age-friendly and to develop a guide to help communities become more age-friendly. Ten communities located in eight provinces participated in this Canadian initiative. In Manitoba, Gimli participated in the project.

The research, using the same focus group methodology as in the WHO project, was conducted by Drs. Elaine Gallager (University of Victoria), Janice Keefe (Mount St. Vincent University) and Verena Menec (University of Manitoba). The research was then used to produce the Age-Friendly Rural and Remote Communities guide, which was released in November 2007 (Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors, 2007).