Infographic 1
People nearing retirement outnumber people old enough to enter the labour market

Infographic description

The title of the infographic is "People nearing retirement outnumber people old enough to enter the labour market"

This is a line chart.

The vertical axis shows numbers from 0 to 7,000,000 by increments of 1,000,000.

The horizontal axis shows the following census years: 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021, 2026, 2031, 2036, 2041, 2046 and 2051.

There are two shaded areas within the chart, the first one represents the years where the baby boomers turn 15 years old (between 1966 and 1980) and the second area represents the years when the baby boomers turn 55 years old (between 2001 and 2020).

The first line represents the population aged 15 to 24 years, and shows the numbers for the following census years, with 3,299,000 in 1966, 4,003,700 in 1971, 4,479,100 in 1976, 4,658,700 in 1981, 4,178,200 in 1986, 3,830,500 in 1991, 3,857,200 in 1996, 4,009,100 in 2001, 4,220,900 in 2006, 4,365,600 in 2011, 4,268,900 in 2016, and 4,215,200 in 2021. It also shows the population projections for the following census years, with 4,607,000 in 2026, 4,885,600 in 2031, 5,000,200 in 2036, 5,102,400 in 2041, 5,212,800 in 2046, and 5,341,300 in 2051.

The second line represents the population aged 55 to 64 years, and shows the numbers for the following census years, with 1,479,700 in 1966, 1,731,700 in 1971, 1,924,400 in 1976, 2,159,200 in 1981, 2,328,300 in 1986, 2,399,600 in 1991, 2,489,500 in 1996, 2,868,000 in 2001, 3,674,500 in 2006, 4,393,300 in 2011, 4,910,800 in 2016, and 5,218,900 in 2021. It also shows the population projections for the following census years, with 5,021,900 in 2026, 4,722,000 in 2031, 4,866,500 in 2036, 5,263,000 in 2041, 5,641,800 in 2046, and 5,879,600 in 2051.

A double arrow shows a record gap in 2021 between the population aged 15 to 24 years and the population aged 55 to 64 years.

Note(s): Data for 2026 to 2051 are population projections from the M1 medium-growth scenario and are based on the 2016 Census. For reasons of comparability, the census net undercoverage has been removed from the projected populations presented in this chart.

Source(s): Census of Population, 1966 to 2021 (3901). The custom population projections are based on the Population Projections for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2018 to 2068 (91-520-X).