A portrait of seniors in Canada

Aging of the population is one of the most discussed subjects in Canada today. While some analysts forecast high costs to public services and labor market shortages, others argue that Canada is well-equipped to face this social and demographic phenomenon. In a recent report, Stat Can has provided an excellent portrait of seniors in Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-519-x/89-519-x2006001-eng.htm
For example, throughout most of the twentieth century, a fairly small proportion of the Canadian population was comprised of persons aged 65 or older; in the 1920s and 1930s, seniors accounted for about 5% of the population, while in the 1950s and 1960s they accounted for less than 8%. High fertility rates, low life expectancy and a population base comprised of many non-elderly immigrants contributed to this profile. The situation is significantly different today. Low fertility rates, longer life expectancy and the effects of the baby boom generation are among the factors contributing to the aging of the population. Between 1981 and 2005, the number of seniors in Canada increased from 2.4 to 4.2 million and their share of the total population increased from 9.6% to 13.1%. Consequently, older age groups are more and more represented in the Canadian population profile, particularly as individuals from the Baby Boom years of 1946 to 1965 begin turning age 65. The number of seniors in Canada is projected to increase from 4.2 million to 9.8 million between 2005 and 2036, and seniors' share of the population is expected to almost double, increasing from 13.2% to 24.5%.
Several challenges associated with portraying the general well-being of seniors noted in the Stats Can report. Firstly the population of seniors is very heterogeneous in terms of health status, cultural origins, financial situations and living arrangements. Secondly, there are no consensual definitions of concepts such as well-being and wellness. Recognizing that wellness might mean different things to different persons, the report identifies five core values as highly desirable for the vast majority of seniors: dignity, independence, participation, fairness and security. Many important elements impact these core values in seniors' lives. They are:
1. Health, wellness and security, which includes health and wellness, safety and security and income security. As the number of seniors increase in Canadian society, our health care system will be facing major challenges. As far as income security is concerned, the economic downturn in the last decade had a major negative impact on the pensions and savings of seniors who spent a life time in the private sector.
2. Continuous learning, work and participation in society, which includes work and retirement, age discrimination and negative stereotypes, social participation and ethno-cultural diversity. The old cliché of “planning to retire at age 55 then do gardening and playing golf” will be seriously challenged in many segments of society, except for those with government pensions and those who managed to accumulate significant amounts of wealth in the private sector. For the rest of seniors, retirement age may move up to 70 or even 75 years.
3. Supporting and caring in the community, which includes living arrangements, transportation, social isolation and loneliness, family/informal care giving and seniors in Northern/remote Canada. This framework will likely pose the greatest challenges to society. Government needs to address these in the near future in terms of providing affordable housing and nursing homes for seniors. With increases in life expectancy, social isolation and loneliness will increasingly impact seniors. A possible solution to this development may be realized by getting involved in social networking opportunities and connect to family members and friends living in different parts of the country (and the world).