Seniors outnumber Canada’s youth for first time as boomers age

(Bloomberg) — With the baby boom generation approaching retirement age, seniors now outnumber youth in Canada for the first time.

The population of 35.9 million as of July 1 included a record 5.78 million people 65 and older, and 5.75 million 14 or younger, Statistics Canada said Tuesday from Ottawa. The increased ranks of seniors is linked to the aging of the baby boomers born in the era after World War II from 1946 to 1965.

Populations are also aging across Group of Seven industrialized nations, and Canada’s share of seniors is second-lowest at 16.1 percent after the United States at 15 percent, the agency said. The shift to an older population can slow economic growth by reducing the supply of workers, and can pressure government finances with fewer working-age taxpayers to fund health and retirement benefits.