Population Aging in Canada – Would need to settle 2.85 million new Canadians immediately

If Canada was to rely solely on immigration to address the impending labour force shortage, it would need to settle 2.85 million new Canadians immediately in order to return to the 2019 OAD ratio. And arrivals would need, on average, to exceed 1.7 million people annually over the next decade to maintain that OAD ratio.

Seniors of 2069 are today’s teens and 20-year-olds whose prospects can only rise if we implant the mentality of life-long learning early on, ensuring a population not merely educated but also skilled. This strategy has worked in Singapore, which has seen its OAD almost double to 21.6 percent in the last decade. Its universities encourage life-long learning and industry-related skill upgrades to their alumni, which is supplemented by government lifelong learning programs. Meanwhile, in Japan, with the world’s highest OAD, later retirement has been a focus, even to the extent of encouraging seniors to start new businesses. Along with robotic innovations to lower healthcare costs, Japan encourages seniors to remain active in society and offers incentives to employers to hire workers past age 65. In 2020, about 26 percent of people ages 65 and over in Japan participated in the labour market, compared to just 14 percent in Canada.

Learning from Japan and Singapore, Canada too can start embracing population aging, creating the conditions for a senior population that generates economic activity instead of fiscal stress.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @  Mahboubi, Irawan – Embracing Population Aging: Staying Young Through Life-Long Learning | Research Institute Canada | Canada Economy News | Canadian Government Policy