A document released by Stats Canada shows a very different country 50 years from now in terms of Canadians’ average age and where they choose to live.
The findings come from a report entitled, “Population projections: Canada, provinces and territories, 2018 to 2068.” The report states that according to scenarios modeled by Stats Canada, the country’s total population could reach high as 55 million by 2068. While the population of many developed countries is expected to decrease, strong immigration is expected to keep Canada’s population growing over the next 50 years.
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That population growth is expected to vary greatly between provinces and territories. Ontario remained the most populous province in all of Stats Canada’s scenarios, but big growth is also expected for Alberta. Alberta’s population could surge upwards by as many as four million people over the next few decades; almost all of Stats Canada’s models predict Alberta’s population will surpass B.C.’s by 2043.
Robust population growth is also expected in other prairie provinces, while Quebec’s share of the total Canadian population will likely decrease. Comparatively small increases, or possibly even a negative population trend, are forecast for the Atlantic provinces.
Canada’s population is also expected to continue aging as it grows. The proportion of the population who are 65 and older is expected to reach between 21.4 and 29.5 per cent. In comparison, 17.2 per cent of Canadians were 65 and older in 2018. As the proportion of working age people falls, possibly as low as 58 per cent of the population by 2068, people older than 100 are expected to be the fastest growing segment of Canada’s population. The Stats Can report states there could be nine times as many centenarians in the Canada of 2068 as there are today, but they will still make up .2 per cent of the population or less.
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