The Aging Effects of Canada’s Population

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The Aging Effects of Canada's Population It was 1947, World War II had finally come to a halt and Canadian soldiers were sent home. The large number of males returning back to their countries quickly made up for lost time which, in turn, triggered the Baby Boom. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand were all faced with baby booms; however, Canada had the loudest boom of all which lasted from 1947 to 1966. At the height of the boom, Canadian women were averaging four children each which explains why today that the Canadian population is approximately one-third boomers. When a new product or idea is introduced it is likely targeted to this group simply because there are just so many of them that everyone takes notice. Why did the baby boom happen? Canadians knew they could afford large families since the economy was prospering and the future seemed bright. Also, immigration rates dramatically rose in the 1950s which, in turn, resulted in additional people of childbearing age and therefore they made a central role in the boom. Once the birth-control pill was introduced in 1961 and women were becoming more accepted into the labour force there was a substantial decline in fertility over the 1960s known as the Baby Bust. While the baby boomers grew up and had offspring of their own it created a mini boom from 1980 to 1995 called the Baby Boom Echo. A direct consequence of the ongoing global fertility and mortality decline at older ages, population aging is expected to be among the most prominent global demographic trends of the 21st century (Foot, 1996). This pattern is expected to continue over the next few decades,... ... middle of paper ... ..._reports/ptcd/ptcd_sum_e.pdf Public Health Agency of Canada (2005). Income and Labour Force Issues. Federal Report on Aging. Retrieved on March 13, 2005 from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/seniors-aines/pubs/fed_paper/fedreport7_02_e.htm Ruggeri, Joe (2002, September). Population Aging, Health Care Spending and Sustainability: Do we really have a crisis? Caledon Institute of Social Policy. Retrieved on March 15, 2005 from http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/297ENG.pdf Statistics Canada (2003). The Changing profile of Canada’s labour force. Retrieved on March 24, 2005 from http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/paid/canada.cfm The Sustainability Report (2004). Canada’s Aging Population. Retrieved on March 15, 2005 from http://www.sustreport.org/signals/canpop_age.html

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