2006 Census: Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006, by Age and Sex: Findings

By Laurent Martel and Éric Caron Malenfant, Demography Division, Statistics Canada

• Highlights
• National portrait
  • More seniors, fewer children
  • A record one in seven Canadians is 65 years or older
  • The median age is up as well and now stands at 39.5 years
  • Despite our aging trend, Canada's population remains one of the youngest in the G8
  • The average age of seniors is increasing
  • Sharp increase in the number of centenarians
  • Rapid aging of the working-age population (aged 15 to 64)
  • Baby-boomers remain the largest generation
• Provincial/Territorial populations by age and sex
  • Population aging affects every province
  • The Atlantic provinces are among the oldest provinces in the country
  • Quebec has more than 1 million seniors
  • Ontario remains one of the younger provinces, but it too is aging.
  • Nearly one person in five is under 15 years in the Prairie provinces
  • British Columbia is older than average
  • The territories have the youngest populations in Canada
• Subprovincial population dynamics
  • Urban and rural Canada: the difference is young adults
  • Census metropolitan areas, though younger, are aging too
  • The suburbs of census metropolitan areas are younger than the downtown areas
  • Three large urban areas
  • The Montréal census metropolitan area
  • The Greater Golden Horseshoe
  • The Vancouver census metropolitan area
  • Portrait of mid-size urban centres
  • Portrait of small towns, rural areas and the territories
  • Small towns and communities in the territories

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