Canada’s 85 and over population is expected to triple over the next 40 years to as many as 4.3 million people, an increase that will place significant pressure on public services and the care system.

According to figures released this week by Statistics Canada, the country’s population could reach a medium-growth forecast of 63 million by 2073, with between 3.3 million and 4.3 million over the age of 85.

Ottawa-based demographer Doug Norris said that Canada’s rapidly growing population has been on an aging trend for many years.

Norris, chief demographer at data consultancy Environics Analytics, believes that Canada’s senior population will double the pressure not only on the healthcare systems, but also on the labour market as more people are needed to meet the growing demand on care services.

“We’ve heard a lot recently about long-term care, about the need for support for people to perhaps age in place, live in their residence for as long as they can, that help with that is needed,” he said. “Related to all of that is our need for workers to work in long-term care facilities, to work more generally in the health area, simply because the demands for those kinds of services are going to increase tremendously.”

Norris said the labour demand in seniors care also means that Canada must, ironically, plan its population growth, driven by in-migration, to directly address the areas where care workers are needed.

But in a country with one of the fastest growing populations in the world, this in itself create further challenges. Canada is already experiencing a housing crisis, with lack of availability driving up prices, and affordability and borrowing costs at a twenty year high.

The country’s population growth has also contributed to a sharp rise in housing rental prices, which saw an annual increase of 7.4% to November 2023. The high cost of accommodation is the largest contributor to Canada’s 2.9% inflation rate, according to Statistics Canada.

Many believe that the Canadian government needs a better strategy for managing both its aging population and its continued population growth. The two problems are clearly intertwined and if, as projections suggest, the country’s 85 and over population does triple over the coming decades, ever greater numbers of people and resources will be needed in order to care for them.

Submitted by Friends of Retha


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