For the first time ever, senior citizens will outnumber children by 2021, according to new population projections from Statistics Canada.
The estimates, released Wednesday, indicate the population of over-65s will more than double, from 4.7 million in 2009 to between 9.9 million and 10.9 million by 2036. Seniors will surpass children aged 14 and under between 2015 and 2021.
"The ageing of the population is projected to accelerate rapidly, as the entire baby boom generation turns 65 [by 2036]" Statscan said in a release.
Canada's changing age structure will affect many aspects of society, from health care to pensions. Indeed, Statistics Canada said the ratio of working-age people to seniors would decrease from five to one in 2009 to about 2.5 to one by 2036.
The national statistics agency said seniors would account for between 23 per cent to 25 per cent of the overall population by 2036, nearly double the 13.9 per cent recorded in 2009. As well, the proportion of the population aged 15 to 64 - the traditional work force - would decline from about 70 per cent to 60 per cent.
Statistics Canada said the population would age rapidly until 2031, when the last of the baby boomers will have turned 65. It also said that deaths would increase during the entire period from 2009 to 2036.
In addition, Statscan said the overall Canadian population would exceed 40 million by 2036, ranging from 40.1 million under its low-growth scenario to 47.7 million under its high-growth scenario. The population was 33.9 million as of January.
Statscan's population projections are based on varying assumptions on fertility, mortality and immigration levels. Regardless of the scenario, it said that immigration would represent a larger share of population growth. According to medium-growth projections, Canada will receive some 333,600 immigrants a year by 2036, compared with 252,500 in 2010.