Health and Welfare's Review of Demography

The Mandate of National Health and Welfare's "Review of Demography and Its Implications for Economic and Social Policy" was to report to Cabinet the possible changes in the size, structure and distribution of the Canadian population to 2025 as well as to comment on ways to which these changes might affect Canada's economic and social life. The initial demographic review did not address housing and living conditions. This report reviews the 26 NHW research papers on demography to identify and discuss the implications of the Review findings for housing and living environments. Decreasing population growth rates, increasing numbers of both immigration and seniors, and the decreasing size of the proportion of the population of working age are identified as demographic trends which will have an impact on the living environments of Canadians. Some of these impacts are the continued growth of major metropolitan ....