How to Open Economic Doors When Canada’s Demographic Window Closes

The United Nations uses a precise definition of the demographic window, defining it as a time when the youth- dependency ratio (the proportion of persons aged under 15 as a percentage of the working age population aged 15 to 64) is under 30 percent, and the elderly-dependency ratio (the proportion of the population aged over 65 as a percentage of the working-age population) is under 15 percent. [...] Despite a bit of skewing because 3 COMMENTARY: How to Open Economic Doors When Canada’s Demographic Window Closes of a later boom in the 1980s and some distortion because of immigration, it is the baby boom that is still dominating the North American population pyramid, and it is the baby boom that will create a host of economic and social issues in the coming years. [...] One is the middle- young ratio which looks at the ratio of those in their forties to those in their twenties; the second is the middle-old ratio which looks at the ratio of those in their forties to those in their sixties. [...] The competition for those with the highest skills and potential is likely to increase, not decrease, in the future, meaning that Canada will need to actively pursue the immigrants deemed to be of the most value in an economic sense. [...] The competition for those with the highest skills and potential is likely to increase, not decrease, in the future, meaning that Canada will need to actively pursue the immigrants deemed to be of the most value in an economic sense.