Oct.1 was National Seniors Day, a good occasion to remember that there are two categories of people: seniors, and people who will be lucky to become seniors eventually.

We often talk about seniors issues as if they are the domain of a small and exclusive group. 

But the proportion of seniors in Canada continues to grow. 

In 2022, almost 20 per cent of Canadians 鈥� one in five 鈥� was over 65 years old. 

By 2040, that proportion is expected to increase to almost one in four.

The question of what it means to be a senior in Canada is in flux. Our life expectancies are among the longest in the world. Seniors can expect decades of life experience after 鈥渞etirement鈥� age.

So what does it mean to be a senior? 

Is it a time for people to retire, travel, spend time with grandkids and friends? Is it a time to keep working or go back to school? To volunteer, take up new hobbies, or enjoy sports?

There are as many ways to live as a senior as there are seniors in Canada.

It can be a reward for a long working life, or it can be a time of struggle due to illness, infirmity, or low income.

With seniors an ever-larger part of Canada鈥檚 mosaic, it鈥檚 time to ask how we can create a world that makes seniors safe, prosperous, and fulfilled.

Some economists are advocating rising retirement ages, to prevent the Canada Pension Plan and other seniors programs from becoming oversubscribed and overdrawn. In an age when many people keep working longer by choice, it may not even be necessary.

For others, retirement is a necessity due to a life spent doing hard physical labour, or it鈥檚 forced on them by injury, disability, or the closure of an employer. 

The goal should be to ensure that both working and retired seniors have the resources they need.

Recent government increases to retirement supports such as CPP and Old Age Security are a help, but may not keep up with costs like rent and groceries.

We must resolve these issues in a way that allows people to live with dignity. After that, we can consider a Canada in which work, play, and education are all options for seniors.

鈥� M.C.