Close X
Friday, November 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

Millennials outnumber baby boomers in Canada as immigration slows population aging

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Feb, 2024 10:51 AM
  • Millennials outnumber baby boomers in Canada as immigration slows population aging

Statistics Canada says there are now more millennials than baby boomers in the country, ending the 65-year reign of the post-Second World War generation as the largest cohort in the population.

The federal agency noted the change in its newly released population estimate for July 1, 2023, broken down by age and gender.

The baby boomer generation became the largest in Canada in 1958 — seven years before the last baby boomer was even born. They accounted for 40 per cent of the population from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.

Many countries are grappling with the reality of an aging population as baby boomers retire. These changing demographics are expected to affect health care needs and governments' tax bases.

Here in Canada, the Liberal government has pitched higher immigration as part of the solution to problems created by aging demographics. 

Statistics Canada's report, released on Wednesday, shows federal policies are already having an impact as higher immigration through both permanent and temporary streams in 2022 and 2023 helped slow population aging.

"However, the effect of receiving a high number of immigrants in 2022 and 2023 on the decline of the average and median ages is temporary, as population aging is unavoidable," the report says. 

The average age in Canada — 41.6 — dropped slightly, by a tenth of a percentage point, between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. It was the first decline since 1958. 

Meanwhile, the number and proportion of people aged 65 years and older have continued to rise.

The federal agency says the share of millennials and generation Z is increasing, while the reverse is true for baby boomers and generation X. 

Those trends have helped widen the share of the working-age population, which increased in 2023 after steadily declining over the previous 15 years.

"This change may benefit Canadian society by increasing the size of the working-age population, possibly helping to alleviate the pressures of sectoral labour shortages," the report says. 

"However, the high number of new working age Canadians may also put pressure on the delivery of services to the population, housing, transportation and infrastructure."

Statistics Canada estimates generation Z could overtake millennials in numbers sometime between 2038 and 2053. 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar
Homicide investigators in British Columbia say they are seeking a third suspect in the killing of Surrey Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18. Pierotti told a media briefing that the suspected getaway driver waited for the other suspects in a silver 2008 Toyota Camry that was parked near 121 Street and 68 Avenue before and during the killing.

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta
Located at 1054 - 54A St., KinVillage Apartments will have 145 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom homes. All units will be adaptable or accessible, allowing the suites to be easily and inexpensively modified to meet residents’ needs as they age. 

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta

China leaves Canada off list of countries approved for group tours

China leaves Canada off list of countries approved for group tours
China has lifted a pandemic ban on group tours to several countries, including the United States and Australia, but tourists are still be barred from group visits to Canada. The change announced by China's culture and tourism ministry last week allows Chinese and online travel agencies to book group tours and packages for Chinese tourists in 70 more countries all over the world.

China leaves Canada off list of countries approved for group tours

Winds, heat and lightning trigger concern as two British Columbia wildfires surge

Winds, heat and lightning trigger concern as two British Columbia wildfires surge
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has issued an evacuation order for the area southwest of Keremeos affected by two wildfires that have been burning for several weeks. Thirteen properties have been ordered evacuated along the Ashnola River and in the Snowy Protected area of Cathedral Provincial Park, including Cathedral Lakes Lodge.

Winds, heat and lightning trigger concern as two British Columbia wildfires surge

Housing crisis: Feds stick by immigration plan, rethink international student flows

Housing crisis: Feds stick by immigration plan, rethink international student flows
Academics, commerical banks and policy thinkers have all been warning the federal government that the pace of population growth, facilitated by immigration, is making the housing crisis worse. Canada is also experiencing a boom in the number of temporary residents who are coming to the country, which includes international students and temporary foreign workers.  

Housing crisis: Feds stick by immigration plan, rethink international student flows

Fall in housing starts: CMHC

Fall in housing starts: CMHC
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports the annual pace of urban starts was down 11 per cent, the rate of multi-unit urban starts fell 12 per cent and the pace of single-detached urban starts dropped four per cent.

Fall in housing starts: CMHC