Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FRASER INSTITUTE – Canada’s aging population will reduce labour force participation, slow economic growth, and exacerbate government budget deficits

 

The continued aging of Canada’s population will reduce participation in the labour force, which in turn will hinder economic recovery and contribute to rising budget deficits for governments across the country, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank.

 

“The percentage of Canadians working or looking for work has continued to drop, even before COVID-19, and policymakers should understand the potential consequences,” said Philip Cross, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of The Implications of Slowing Growth in Canada’s Labour Force.

 

According to the study, Canada’s labour force growth rate will continue to slow in the coming years, which means there will be a smaller share of people working with an increasing share of seniors, which results in higher government spending on health and income support programs. This will adversely affect government finances, and will exacerbate budget deficits, as costs grow and fewer working-age Canadians are available to pay taxes.

 

Having reached a peak growth rate of 3.8 percent in the early 1970s (when Baby Boomers entered the labour market) the labour force growth rate slipped below 1 per cent in the 1980s. Since then, the growth rate rebounded to 1.7 per cent between 1996 and 2006, when a booming economy and labour shortages drew people into the labour force, including an historic reversal of the long-term decline in the participation of people over 55.

 

But Canada’s labour force participation rate has fallen from 68 percent in 2008 to 64.1 percent in 2020as the Baby Boomers began to retire in large numbers.

 

Crucially, projections from Statistics Canada show labour force growth dwindling to zero by 2026.

 

“Unless significant changes occur in the coming years, Canada’s aging population means labour force participation rates will continue to decline, making government deficits harder to avoid,” said Cross.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“4.5 million hectares of forest lands have burned since 2023, and the best they can do is point to a 90-hectare block being salvaged?” ~~ Ward Stamer, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA

Today, BC NDP forest Minister Ravi Parmar made this pronouncement; ‘Removing red tape has sped up permitting, allowing for more wood to be salvaged, quicker’. 4.5 million hectares of forest lands have burned since 2023, and the best they can do is point to a 90-hectare block?    ~~ BC Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer While acknowledging the NDP government has recognized improvements were needed in permitting and accessing burnt fibre in a timely fashion, the reality is, they are barely making a dent in the problem.  This government's recognition that only seven percent of pulp mill fibre came from burnt timber in 2024-25, quite simply put, is a failure. And the recent announcement, just three weeks ago, that the Crofton Pulp Mill would be permanently closing, is proof of that.     Instead of Premier David Eby’s government addressing core issues being faced by British Columbia’s forest industry, they are doing little more than manipulating the facts, ...
1 comment
Read more

A message from BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer, and the Kamloops – North Thompson Riding Association

2025 was a busy first year. As a Caucus, we worked very hard to defeat Bills 14 and 15, legislation which allows the provincial government to move ahead without environmental assessments on renewable projects, and that also allows cabinet to build infrastructure projects without getting approval from local municipal governments. This is not acceptable to your BC Conservative caucus, and we will continue to press this government for open and transparent projects in the future.  Two things we had success in were having the first Private Members bill passed in over 40 years. The first was Jody Toors Prenatal and Post Natal Care bill, and then there was my private members Bill M217 Mandatory Dashcams in commercial vehicles (passed second reading unanimously and is heading to Committee in February). Regrettably, much of the legislation passed by the government was little more than housekeeping bills, or opportunities to strengthen the ability of Cabinet Ministers to bypass the BC legi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wildfire waste plan torched -- Forestry critic Stamer calls BC's wildfire salvage rate 'a failure'

Claims that BC is making progress salvaging wildfire-damaged timber are masking deeper problems in the forest sector, the province’s forestry critic says. Last week, BC’s Ministry of Forests said mills in the province processed more than one million cubic metres of wildfire chips in 2024-25, up from 500,000 cubic metres in 2023 and representing about seven per cent of all processed wood. Kamloops-North Thompson BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer said those claims of progress ignore the reality that only a fraction of burned timber is being used ... CLICK HERE for the full story
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more