Studies show Canadian immigration necessary to boost ageing labour market
April 16 2009 by Ranjan Chakraborty
Statistics showing the future working population expectations for Canada do not make for happy viewing, but increased immigration may be a solution.
A study by Urban Futures has uncovered a fundamental shift in the population of Canada. Birthrates fell below the 2.1 babies-per-mother replacement level in 1970 and have stayed there ever since. Meanwhile the country has one of the longest life expectancies in the world. As a result of this, the number of Canadians aged between 70 and 89 will double by 2035 to 6.4 million, and by 2055 a million people are expected to live until they are 90.
The ageing population means less people to do the jobs needed to keep Canada’s economy competitive, with the percentage of people actively in the labour market reducing to 58% by 2035. Alongside boosting the birth rate and increasing productivity among those that are working, encouraging foreigners to immigrate and work in Canada is another solution.
However, Canadian immigration numbers would have to be doubled over 50 years in order to create the working population necessary to sustain competitive GDP growth. Needless to say, for people wanting to move to Canada, there will always be jobs, regardless of the economic climate.
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