Canada’s workforce has grown older over the past two decades, few households have adopted alternative energy systems, fewer foreign postdoctoral researchers are staying permanently, and the child care sector has expanded since the introduction of the national child care program, according to four studies released Wednesday in Economic and Social Reports.
The study “Workforce aging in Canada: Insights from firm-level data” found that the age profile of Canadian businesses has shifted steadily since 2001.
The share of firms with an average employee age above 40 rose from 26.2% in 2001 to 42.3% in 2022. During the same period, the proportion of workers aged 55 and older more than doubled, increasing from 9.3% to 18.8%. By 2022, nearly one in five employees at a typical Canadian business was at least 55 years old.
Researchers said the study provides the first comprehensive firm-level measures of workforce age across the full population of Canadian businesses, creating a reference point for future research on workforce demographics and business performance.
A second report, “Socioeconomic and dwelling characteristics of Canadian households using alternative energy sources,” found that alternative energy remained uncommon in Canadian homes.
In 2021, about one percent of Canadian households reported using at least one alternative energy source. Solar power was the most common, used by 23% of those households, followed by geothermal energy at 11%. Another 10% relied on other sources, including wind power and biofuels.
The study found alternative energy users were more likely to live in single-detached homes, with 89% living in that type of housing compared with 73% of households that did not use alternative energy. They were also more likely to have lived in the same home for at least 10 years and to reside outside urban areas.
Household composition also differed. Senior-only households accounted for 36% of alternative energy users, compared with 22% of non-users. Households with adults and children represented 18% of users, compared with 28% of households that did not report using alternative energy.
The report also found households using alternative energy were more likely to report other environmentally focused practices.
The study “From research labs to departure gates: Retention and labour market outcomes of foreign postdoctoral fellows in Canada” examined foreign postdoctoral researchers who entered Canada under the International Mobility Program.
Annual arrivals generally ranged between 2,000 and 3,300 throughout the 2000s and 2010s before declining from 2021 to 2024.
The study found long-term retention weakened over time. Among postdoctoral fellows who first received a work permit between 2000 and 2004, 28% became permanent residents within 10 years. That share fell to 22% among those who first arrived between 2010 and 2014.
For those who remained in Canada, labour market outcomes were strong. Former postdoctoral fellows who became permanent residents earned about twice as much, on average, as immigrants admitted directly from abroad during each of their first 15 years after obtaining permanent residence. The researchers also found that income tax filing, used as an indicator of continued residence in Canada, declined gradually over time.
The fourth report, “The early learning and child care industry in Canada: An update to the 2021 report,” examined changes in the sector following the introduction of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system in 2021.
The industry’s gross domestic product reached $23.2 billion in 2022, up from $15.2 billion in 2016. The report found much of the growth occurred after the child care system was introduced.
The sector also became more concentrated. The number of unincorporated child care businesses declined, while incorporated businesses accounted for a larger share of industry output, reflecting the growing role of centre-based child care providers.
Although child care businesses continued to exit the market at a higher rate than businesses in many other sectors, the report found that survival rates improved over time. The exit rate between 2021 and 2022 was lower than the rate recorded across other business sectors.