It should come as no surprise to anyone that Powell River’s population is aging, along with Canada’s. The great wave of baby boomers is heading into retirement and officials are grappling with who will pay the rising bill for social services as the demographic shift speeds up.
Age and gender statistics from the 2011 census confirm the greying of the population. But are public agencies ready for the great bulge that will impact health care services, pensions, the labour force and social services?
Powell River’s population is ahead of the aging trend, with a median age and percentage of seniors higher than BC and Canada. The aging population will impact the community in the years ahead, as the first baby boomers hit retirement age, 65, in 2011.
The census found that there is a higher proportion of people over 65 living in rural and remote areas than in or near big cities. Coupled with the fact that Canadian men and women are living longer than at any other time in the nation’s history, the tsunami of seniors will strain health care services in smaller communities.
How many seniors are there? In Canada, the number is close to five million, an increase of just over 14 per cent since the 2006 census. The fastest-growing age group is 60 to 64, at 29 per cent. The second fastest-growing group are centenarians, those over 100 years old. Interestingly, there are 500 women centenarians for every 100 men.
The baby boom generation has made, and will continue to make, a significant social, cultural, political and economic impact on North America. It has influenced everything from clothes to food to vehicle design to finances. Perhaps its greatest impact is yet to be experienced.
According to recent studies, the majority of seniors have at least one chronic condition and as many as one in four has two or more. Diabetes, chronic pain, bone-related diseases and some cancers are on the rise. Currently, half a million seniors suffer from dementia, a number that is expected to rise to more than a million by 2038.
Staying healthy appears to be a wise goal for the baby boom generation. There are many resources available to assist seniors with that goal and it is up to individuals to avail themselves of those resources in order to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle.
Fortunately, it is a generation that has redefined each stage of life along the way and we can expect they will redefine old age as well.
