Canada is facing large-scale changes as a result of population aging, according he latest figures on aging from the 2006 census released today by Statistics Canada.

The two main factors behind the population aging are the nation’s low fertility rate and increasing life expectancy.

Data from the 2006 census showed that the number of seniors aged 65 years and over surpassed the 4-million mark for the first time.

As a result, the proportion of senior citizens has increased from 13% in 2001 to 13.7% in 2006. StatsCan said this increase in the proportion of seniors was observed at the national level as well as in every province, territory and census metropolitan area in the country.

At the same time, the working-age population (15 to 64 years) is becoming increasingly older. The number of people approaching the age of retirement has hit a record high.

The fastest growing age group between 2001 and 2006 consisted of individuals aged 55 to 64 who are nearing retirement. The census counted nearly 3.7 million in this age group, an increase of 28.1% from 2001. This rate of growth was more than five times the national average of 5.4%.

Data also showed that there are barely enough young people entering the working age group to replace those approaching the age of retirement. Between 2001 and 2006, the population aged 15 to 24 increased by only 5.3%.

In the 1970s, for every person aged 55 to 64 years, there were 2.3 individuals in the 15 to 24 years age group. By 2001, this ratio had fallen to 1.4, and in 2006, it was down to 1.1. This means that for each person leaving the working age group, there was just over one individual entering it.

Population projections show that in about 10 years, Canada may have more people at the age where they can leave the labour force than at the age where they can begin working. This presents considerable challenges for Canadian employers and for society in general.

The rapid expansion in the number of older people (55 to 64 years) among the working age population is due to the fact that the first baby-boomers entered this age group in 2001.

Baby-boomers, that is, people who were born between 1946 and 1965, comprised 30% of Canadians in 2006. They are the largest cohort in Canada. In fact, 40 years ago, in 1966, baby-boomers made up more than 40% of the population.

Despite this aging trend, Canada is the second youngest country in the G8 group of industrialized nations. However, it has the oldest population in the Americas.

A detailed analysis of how the nation’s population age structure is changing is available in the online report Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006, by Age and Sex, 2006 census.