Population projections released Monday by Statistics Canada indicate that under a medium-growth scenario, Canada’s population is expected to reach 56.5 million people in 2068. It was 38.2 million in the year last.
The federal agency points out that if the Canadian population continues to increase in the future, it will be mainly thanks to immigration, which should remain quite significant over the next few decades.
However, immigration does not succeed in significantly increasing the proportion of young people in the population, so much so that Canada will remain dependent on strong immigration to ensure the renewal of its population.
Statistics Canada reports that fertility rates are currently low in Canada and recently have been declining.
The aging of the Canadian population continues to progress, to the point of imposing itself as an inescapable reality over the next 50 years, according to the agency.
More than one person in four, or 25.9% of the population, will be aged 65 and over in 2068, according to demographic projections. The average age in Canada would thus increase from 41.7 years last year to 44.1 years in 2043 and to 45.1 years in 2068.
The population aged 85 and over could be multiplied by three, or even more, during the same period, from 871,000 people in 2021 to 3.2 million in 2068.
On the other hand, Statistics Canada observes changing regional demographic trends.
Data on interprovincial migration since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic could mean population growth in some provinces, including Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and British Columbia.
However, it is difficult, according to Statistics Canada, to project whether these new migratory behaviors will last long into the future.