Now that the Baby Boomers Are Middle-Aged...Threats, Challenges and Opportunities of the 21st Century. Perspectives

Canadian baby-boomers will reach old age around 2020. Until then, they represent a large, well-educated generation whose economic productivity provides a strong base on which to build the necessary systems of income support, health and social service delivery, and economic adjustment that will be required to age gracefully. Canadians can expect that the population and the labor force will grow less rapidly over the next 30 years. Low rates of fertility are likely to continue. The average age of the labor force will increase. The labor force may be less adaptable and geographically mobile as the proportion of young entrants decreases. It will be essential to develop and implement strategies to promote health throughout the life span. By 2025, women will constitute 60 percent of the elderly population. The jobs, benefits, and incomes available to the female labor force are unlikely to provide them with the financial security they will require. The two principal aspects of demographic policy are immigration and fertility. As early as the year 2000, significant increases in the rates of immigration will be required if Canada is to maintain a stable level of population. Canada's commitment to programs of family and child benefits has seriously eroded since 1985. Although it cannot be demonstrated that policies designed explicitly to increase fertility are effective, policies that make it more difficult to choose to bear and raise children would be unwise. (A 26-item reference list is included in the paper.) (CML)