The Glacier Grinds Closer: How Demographics Will Change Canada’s Fiscal Landscape

William Robson

No 106, e-briefs from C.D. Howe Institute

Abstract: The impacts of demographic change on Canada's fiscal landscape will be profound, and as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, they are no longer far away. If current patterns of spending in age-sensitive public programs - healthcare, education, elderly and children's benefits - persist as the population evolves, Canadians will divert more of their incomes from other public and private purposes to fund them. Discounted over 50 years, that increase amounts to an implicit liability of $2.8 trillion for governments, with essentially all the burden falling on the provinces and territories rather than on Ottawa.

Keywords: Fiscal Policy; Canada; demographics; government programs; health; education; seniors; families (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E62 H11 J11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 6 pages
Date: 2010-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published on the C.D. Howe Institute website, September 2010

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