The ageing population of Canadian workers has become a concern for all stakeholders. According to BecomeACanadian, the situation could lead to an increase in the amount of immigrants who would be welcomed into the country.
In a report recently released by Desjardins, the population growth among working-age Canadians was discovered to need high maintenance. The country needs to maintain and balance working-age groups, as many workers are due for retirement.
BecomeACanadian could confirm that the old-age dependency ratio that the country needs to maintain refers to ages 15 and 64 and those aged 65 and older.
While many would want the federal government to ramp up immigration, the ageing population of Canadian workers suggests the country needs to welcome many more newcomers to counter-balance its ageing demographic.
Statistics showing how more immigration can salvage the ageing demographic
Become A Canadian says that to maintain the same working-age population ratio that existed in 2022, the country has to grow its working-age population by 2.2 per cent annually through 2040.
More so, if the country desires to go back to the average old-age dependency ratio it had between 1990 and 2015, in which the number of working-class age Canadians would have to grow by 4.5 per cent yearly.
In the words of Randall Bartlett, Desjardins’ senior director of Canadian economics: “We need immigration at a relatively high rate to offset the economic impacts of ageing — to be able to pay for the health care that Canadian seniors are going to need.”
