CENSUS 2001 HIGHLIGHTS
Factsheet 2
Ministry of Finance
Age and Gender Profiles of Ontario
Median Age Rising
Canada = 37.6
45
38,4 37,7 38,8 38,6 38,8 37,2
38,4 36.1
36,8 36,7 35.0
36,1
35
40
35
30,1
30
22,1
25
20
15
10
5
N
VT
T
n
W
N
C
ko
B
Yu
sk
lta
A
an
Sa
nt
O
M
Q
N
B
ue
S
0
I
Median age is the point at which exactly one-half of
the population is older and the other half is younger.
50
N
ƒ
The increase in the median age is one of many
indicators that Ontario’s population is aging.
Years
PE
ƒ
Ontario’s median age is lower than that of the Atlantic
provinces, Quebec and Canada (37.6 yrs.), but higher
than that of the Western provinces except British
Columbia.
Median Age, Canada and the Provinces, 2001
fld
ƒ
According to the 2001 Census, the median age of
Ontario’s population reached 37.2 years, an increase
of 2 years from 35.2 in the 1996 Census. The decline
in the number of births that occurred since 1993 is a
major factor in the increase in median age.
N
ƒ
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 2001
Women Outnumber Men
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
In Ontario, in 2001, there were 95.6 men for every 100
women overall, little changed from the 1996 Census.
Population Growth Rate by Age, Ontario, 1996-2001
Per Cent
Although men in the 65+ group increased faster than
women of this age, women continued to substantially
outnumber men in older age groups.
25
The male:female ratio in older age groups increased
between 1996 and 2001. However, there are still only
75 men per 100 women in the 65+ group, and 43.2
men per 100 women in the 85+ group.
10
The Census enumerated 1,380 people aged 100 and
over in 2001 compared with 1,135 in 1996, a 21.6%
increase. Among these individuals, 1,110 were women
and 270 were men.
21.2 20.1
19.6
20
13.2
15
7.8
10.1
6.2
3.3
5
3.1
0
-5
-10
-8.6
-9.2
-15
0-4
5-9
1014
1524
2534
3544
4554
5564
6574
7584
85+
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1996 and 2001
The Oldest Age Groups Grew Fastest
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
The oldest age group (75+) increased at the fastest
pace. From 1996 to 2001, their number increased 21
per cent from 541,000 to 654,000.
Number of Men per 100 Women, Ontario, 1996 & 2001
Men per 100 Women
100
Seniors 65+ accounted for 13 per cent of Ontario’s
population, up from 12.4 per cent in 1996. The
proportion of people aged 65+ will start to increase
more rapidly beginning in 2011 when the oldest of the
baby boomers start to reach 65.
90
Adults aged 45-54, the older half of the baby boom
generation, increased by 20% between 1996 and
2001, the second highest rate after the 75+ group.
30
Children 0-14 had an overall growth rate of 0.8% with
the number of youngest children (0-4 yrs.) declining
between 1996 and 2001.
90 91
85
78
80
1996
70 71
70
59 61
60
73 75
2001
45 48
50
33 36
40
23 25
20
24
17
10
0
6569
7074
7579
8084
8589
9094
9599
100+
65+
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1996 and 2001
Office of Economic Policy
Labour and Demographic Analysis Branch
(over)
CENSUS 2001 HIGHLIGHTS
Ministry of Finance
Page 2
Fewer Children Aged 0-4
ƒ
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Children Aged 0-14, Ontario, 1996 and 2001
Between 1996 and 2001, the number of Ontario
children aged 0-4 declined 8.6 per cent to 671,300,
due to declining births in Ontario. Children aged 5-14
increased 5.5 per cent to 1.6 million in the same
period.
2001
1996
33.2%
33.1%
In 2001, children aged 0-14 accounted for 19.6 per
cent of the population, down from 20.6 per cent in
1996.
30.1%
35.3%
34.6%
33.8%
The Working Age Population Grew Older
ƒ
ƒ
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Ontario’s core working age population aged 15-64
represented more than two-thirds of the total
population in 2001, unchanged from the previous
Census. Baby boomers (aged 35-54 in 2001)
accounted for 47 per cent of the working age
population, compared to 49 per cent in 1996.
Between 1996 and 2001, the oldest age groups of the
working age population (people aged 45-64) increased
fastest at 17 per cent. In 2001, they represented 35
per cent of the working age population, compared to
32 per cent in the 1996 Census.
Fewer young people entered the working age
population to replace individuals in the age group
nearing retirement. In 2001, for every person aged
55-64, there were 1.4 individuals in the group aged
15-24, down from 1.5 individuals in the 1996 Census.
Ontario’s CMAs and Cities
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ƒ
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Four of Ontario’s Census Metropolitan Areas
(Kingston, Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay and St.
Catharines-Niagara) were among the top ten “oldest”
in Canada.
St. Catharines-Niagara was the oldest Ontario CMA in
2001 (the third oldest in all of Canada’s CMAs) with a
median age of 40.2 years, an increase of 2.6 from the
1996 Census.
Kitchener was the youngest Ontario CMA with a
median age of 35.3 years in 2001, up 1.8 from the
1996 Census. Four of Ontario’s CMAs (Kitchener,
Oshawa, Windsor and Toronto) were among the top
ten youngest of Canada’s CMAs.
Ontario’s youngest municipality with a population of
5,000+ was Wellesley in the Waterloo Census
Division, with a median age of 28.7 years; the oldest
was Elliot Lake (Algoma Census Division) with a
median age of 49.4 years in 2001.
5-9
0-4
10-14
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1996 and 2001
The Working Age Population, Ontario, 1996 & 2001
Thousand
1,000
900
800
1996
700
2001
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1519
2024
2529
3034
3539
4044
4549
5054
5559
6064
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1996 and 2001
Ten Oldest CMAs, Canada, 2001
Median Age Increase (in years),
1996-2001
T rois-Rivieres
41.2
Victoria
41
St. Cath-Niagara
40.2
Chicout-Jonquiere
39.8
Quebec
39.5
39.1
T hunder Bay
Greater Sudbury
38.9
3.6
2.3
2.6
3.7
2.8
3.0
3.7
Kingston
38.1
2.6
Sherbrooke
38.1
2.8
M ontreal
37.9
Saint John
37.9
30
35
2.8
1.9
40
45
Years (Median Age)
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 2001
For more information, contact Victor Caballero, (416) 325-0825.
Office of Economic Policy
Labour and Demographic Analysis Branch
Issued: February 5, 2003