For the first time ever, Canada has more senior citizens than children, according to new Statistics Canada numbers. However, Manitoba is bucking that trend.
We now have more children and Millennials than seniors.
“We haven’t seen something like this since the baby boom,” said Urban Studies Professor, Jino Distasio.
It’s a direct result of people having more babies and increased immigration said Jonathan Chagnon with Statistic Canada in Ottawa.
“There’s a shift in the population, there’s a shift in the structure of the population and that shift will have impacts.”
RELATED: Census 2016: For the 1st time, more seniors than children living in Canada
The impacts are already being felt at many school division across the province including the Seven Oaks School Division.
“We are certainly seeing lots of growth in enrollment and lots of kids in our school division,” said Superintendent, Brian O’Leary.
O’Leary says they’ve been feeling the pinch for years, desperate for new schools that he said would be full immediately.
“It’s better to be growing than declining, but just keeping up with classrooms and schools,” said O’Leary.
“In the past decade we’ve built two new schools and they’re more than full.”
RELATED: Bedroom communities growing in Manitoba
The growth is not only being felt in large cities like Winnipeg, the report states that in the Rural Municipality of Stanley which includes Winkler and Morden, they have the second youngest population in Canada.
“Your normal family grouping is two or three kids, give or take, but in this area it’s just been higher,” said Reeve Morris Olafson. “Our immigrant families like larger families you’re talking up to five to 10 kids.”
While growth is stretching our limits, we’re going in the right direction said Distasio.
“I think it’s good, we certainly want a younger more vibrant population to support our aging population.”