In the year 2018, Canada took in 321,065 immigrants via both economic and non-economic streams. Such a large intake was last witnessed in 1913 when Canada took in a total of 401,000 immigrants. Canada’s economic migration programs, especially Express Entry, have been very successful in attracting immigrants by simplifying the process.  

Countering an Ageing Population

  In Canada, population of 65 and older has already outnumbered the population of 15 and younger. As can be noted from the graph below, the number of old people is increasing at a higher rate and hence this gap will continue to grow. However, Canada’s situation is substantially better than that of the other G7 nations.       According to experts, Canada’s declining population became a problem much after it was relevant in many other countries like Japan and Germany. Hence, Canada has the opportunity to learn from these countries and apply relevant solutions.   Assistant Professor at Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Mike Moffatt says,  "As the Canadian population gets older, we've got more and more retired people...That puts pressure on the health system and pension system because there's a smaller cohort of working age people to support that."  

A Refusal to Increase Retirement Age

  Further, Canada has refused to increase the retirement age, which according to the experts is too low. A plan was being pushed in the parliament but was pulled back by liberals. This plan would have pushed the retirement benefits to 67, thus ensuring that Canada has a large enough workforce.   The current retirement age is based upon outdated life-expectancy data. Therefore it brings more pressure on Canada’s retirements program which includes CPP plus OAS/GIS. The problem of ageing population further aggravates the problem by leaving only a few workers in the market. This endless cycle can turn out to be catastrophic in the future.   Hence, there is a need to change the law to meet the current circumstances. Countries including Australia, Iceland, Finland, etc have already increased the retirement age to 67 years and Canada too must follow suit.  

Canada’s Counter Move

  In response to this problem, Canada has set an ambitious target and will be taking in more than a million immigrants by the end of 2021. Through rapid immigration, Canada is already driving its population up and will continue to do so as more businesses leave the US. In the year 2017, immigration was responsible for 80 percent of the population growth.  

Immigration Experts

  As Canada deals with its ageing population, it will keep on increasing immigration intake. So if you want to live your dream life in Canada, then reach out to our immigration consultants at: