Ranks of seniors catch up, pass young people in Canada, census numbers to show
OTTAWA — Paul Kershaw loves his 72-year-old mother and his 101-year-old grandmother.
But they represent a growing challenge for the country, and Kershaw, 42, will be counting on younger age groups to protect and support the services that seniors need as Canada bears witness to a historic greying of its population.
The next batch of numbers from the 2016 census, due Wednesday, is expected to show that thanks to aging baby boomers, there are as many seniors in Canada as young people, if not more — the first time in Canadian history that has been the case.
There is also likely to be a jump in the number of centenarians, including Kershaw’s grandmother, showcasing another trend the age and sex data from Statistics Canada will confirm: Canadians are not only getting older, but also living longer.