The 2016 census from Statistics Canada, released Wednesday, showed there were 5.9 million people aged 65 and older in the country – slightly more than the country’s 5.8 million children 14 and younger.
It’s the largest increase for that age group in 70 years.
The data found there were 770,780 Canadians over the age of 85 in 2016. This cohort increased nearly four times as fast as the entire population between 2011 and 2016.
“We need to accelerate the pace of change in our health-care systems to build up those services in the home and in the community so people can live dignified lives in their older years,” said Danielle Martin, a family physician and a vice-president at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.
Full article at: Global News