Quick, who is the oldest person you know?
Chances are the age of the oldest person in your life grows higher all the time, not simply because one person is aging but because seniors across the country are living longer.
For the first time since Confederation, there are more seniors in Canada than children, and centenarians are the fastest growing demographic across the country. Since 2011, the number of people to hit the 100-year milestone nearly doubled and is now 8,230 people.
According to census data released today, Canada has 5.9 million people over the age of 65 and one in eight of those people are at least 85. That compares to 5.8 million children under 14.
Besides centenarians, those aged 85 and up are also booming. Between 2011 and 2016, that demographic grew by nearly 20 per cent, roughly four times the rate of the overall Canadian population and its five per cent growth over the same five years.
The trend holds across the most populous provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
In B.C., there are 150,000 more seniors than children in an overall population of 4.6 million.
In the five years, the number of Canadian seniors has grown by one million. According to 2011 census data, five years ago there were 4.9 million Canadians over 65 and 5.6 million under 14.
The baby boom generation is reaching 65 and life expectancy has climbed.
There are 387,000 seniors in Metro Vancouver, which includes 51,000 people over the age of 85. Those demographics outnumber children by 25,000 in a region with a population of 2.4 million.
