Canada’s workforce ‘has never been older’, statistics agency says

Statistics Canada says seven million people are now aged 65 and older, accounting for about 19 percent of the country's total population of 37 million [File: Jason Lee/Reuters]

A record number of Canadians are set to retire, the country’s statistics agency has said, warning of a looming labour crisis linked to the ageing national workforce.

Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that the working-age population – those aged 15 to 64 – “has never been older”, while over 1 in 5 workers in Canada (21.8 percent) were nearing the mandatory or proposed retirement age of 65.