Canada’s workforce is aging. Is it the wisdom economy — or a cost crunch? - BERITAJA

Canada’s workforce is aging, according to caller information from Statistics Canada.

The information raises questions of whether Canada is seeing much accent connected what immoderate are already calling a “wisdom economy” alternatively than the “knowledge economy” of caller years — aliases whether the costs of surviving is forcing older workers to enactment successful their jobs for longer.

Statistics Canada’s study released connected Wednesday recovered that the number of firms pinch an average worker age complete 40 roseate from 26.2 per cent successful 2001 to 42.3 per cent successful 2022.

In addition, the stock of workers aged 55 and older successful each patient accrued from 9.3 per cent successful 2001 to 18.8 per cent successful 2022.

Canada’s working‑age organization (those aged 15 to 64) was besides older than ever successful 2021, pinch 21.8 per cent of individuals successful this group were betwixt the ages of 55 and 64.

The manufacturing assemblage was recovered to person knowledgeable the largest summation successful the stock of workers aged 55 and older; arsenic successful 2001, 9.8 per cent of workers successful this assemblage were successful that property group.

By 2022, that number had risen to 24.2 per cent, meaning that by 2022, connected average, about 1 successful 4 manufacturing workers was aged 55 aliases older.

“It’s go little manual labour and somewhat little labour-intensive for a greater proportionality of jobs than it was successful the past,” said Nita Chhinzer, an subordinate professor successful the section of guidance astatine the University of Guelph.

“It’s much symbiotic narration pinch exertion wherever exertion is easing immoderate of the manual and beingness demands of labour and manufacturing, meaning that it is pushing little connected older bodies.”

The findings coincide pinch anterior Statistics Canada investigation that suggests that Canada’s wide organization is aging, pinch annual demographic estimates uncovering that complete the past 2 decades, the mean property successful Canada has accrued by much than 4 years — from 37.5 successful 2001 to 41.7 successful 2021.

Wednesday’s study besides notes that successful 2023, “the organization of individuals aged 65 and older surpassed the organization of those younger than 18 for the first clip successful history.”

There are respective apt factors down the rising property of Canada’s workforce, experts say.

A May 2026 Wealthsimple survey recovered that status plans and semipermanent savings return a deed arsenic the costs of raising a kid remains high, pinch 35 per cent of mates pinch kids saying they had reduced contributions to status savings successful bid to support up pinch costs associated to raising a child.

Canada has pulled backmost its migration levels complete caller years, and Chhinzer besides pointed to Canada’s declining fertility rates, which arsenic of 2024 deed a grounds debased pinch 1.25 children per woman.

Separate Statistics Canada investigation from January 2026 states that 51.1 per cent of Canadian women aged 20 to 49 years were not mothers — about 1 successful four, for women complete 40, stating that “increased acquisition levels, greater information successful the labour market, changing societal norms and the wide usage of contraception person contributed to diversifying life patterns, notably successful position of childbearing.”

“A batch of group do subordinate that [Canada’s declining fertility rates] pinch independency and dual income households,” Chhinzer said. “People are focusing much connected their profession and their independence.”

Canada’s population besides saw its 3rd consecutive organization diminution successful the first 4th of 2026, pinch Canada’s organization presently estimated to beryllium 41,417,056 arsenic of April 1, 2026, down 55,025 group from Jan. 1.

“Population is declining. One measurement of doing it [keeping group successful the workforce] is to summation the status property truthful that they clasp much people,” Duygu Biricik Gulseren, an subordinate professor successful York University’s quality assets guidance section said.

As a result, it is imaginable that organizations want to support longstanding labor for arsenic agelong arsenic possible.

“There’s a mentation called quality superior mentation that tells america that the skills, experiences, knowledge that labor bring to organizations are important assets. So, different measurement of making consciousness of these findings is that possibly elder labor person cleanable knowledge […] and that contented whitethorn beryllium difficult to replace, and that’s why organizations want to clasp their elder employees,” Gulseren said.

“Some fields require much deeper expertise, immoderate accomplishment traits for instance, and it needs years and years of experience, truthful replacing these group aliases processing this talent could beryllium really difficult.”

Over the past respective decades, galore workers person been trained to run successful what’s typically called a “knowledge economy”: 1 that prizes knowledge arsenic a cardinal accomplishment successful workers amid the emergence of the net and globalization.

With the maturation of artificial intelligence, there’s besides been increasing speech about the “wisdom economy” being the caller metric for cardinal skills successful workers, pinch Google Trends information revealing a crisp maturation successful searches for the term that appears to person started successful July 2025.

Gulseren defines a contented system arsenic an knowing of “the highest shape of capabilities.”

“You don’t only usage knowledge, but besides usage self-regulation, civilized maturity, sound judgment. A bully knowing and judgement aliases insights, not individual insights, but besides collectivism and putting those resources into activity and producing an system pinch it,” she said.

Chhinzer besides added that a contented system goes beyond principles, practices aliases regulation.

“It’s little about being an master successful a merchandise aliases a process aliases a system, and it’s much about moving into, ‘do you cognize what your requirements are successful your analyzable environment? Do you cognize why things matter? Do you really to allocate resources?’ Wisdom is this amalgamation of skills aliases competencies about knowing what matters and knowing really to get things done.”

Chhinzer said that this is simply a conception that is not conscionable affecting Canada but is successful truth a world issue.

“If I’m hiring group based connected their knowledge aliases their wisdom, past the location limitations of opportunity the manual system aliases the labour system nary longer exist,” she said.

“I could person the champion worker imaginable moving for maine who’s successful Arizona aliases who’s successful Bangladesh aliases who is successful Singapore, truthful this is not a Canada versus the remainder of the world. This is thing we’ve been suffering from.”

Gulseren besides added that this statement of reasoning is needed astatine this time.

“We request much contented now, because the knowledge is truthful readily accessible, but the contented portion is much needed.”