Canada is bracing for a dramatic demographic shift: the population aged 85 and older is expected to triple by 2073, reaching as many as 4.3 million people, according to Statistics Canada. Experts warn that the spike will strain everything from hospital beds and home care to housing, transit and the labour market.
Doug Norris—nicknamed “Mr. Census” after nearly three decades at Statistics Canada and now Senior Vice President and Chief Demographer at Environics Analytics—joined Village Media’s new daily podcast, Closer Look, to unpack the numbers and their consequences. He calls the looming rise in very old Canadians “a sleeper issue” that hasn’t received the attention it deserves.
The implications are far-reaching. Health systems will see greater demand for chronic and complex care; caregivers—formal and informal—will be stretched thinner; and communities will need more age-friendly housing, from supportive and long-term care to accessible apartments near services. Employers, meanwhile, face an aging workforce and mounting retirements, driving the need for productivity gains, immigration, and retraining to keep the economy humming.
Hosted by Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look goes beyond headlines with in-depth interviews featuring reporters, experts, and key decision-makers. New episodes drop Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. in local news feeds and at closerlookpodcast.ca, and are available wherever you get your podcasts. Viewers can watch the full conversation with Norris on YouTube and sign up for the free nightly newsletter for alerts.