Statscan: Canada is getting Older, Poorer, and Smaller

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StatsCan’s own data shows the visa bubble popping, fertility collapsing, and GDP per person shrinking—Canada’s decline is policy-made.

So here’s the truth about Canada right now. The country just got older. The population barely grew. And no, it’s not because Canadians suddenly started having more kids. In fact, it’s the opposite. Birth rates are collapsing.

StatsCan’s own Population Estimates, July 1, 2025 release says Canada added only 47,098 people in the last quarter. That’s the slowest second-quarter growth since 1946. Why? Because the one thing propping up the numbers, non-permanent residents on study and work permits, has started to collapse. In fact, almost 60,000 left in just three months: –32,000 study permits and, 20,000 work permits, the second-largest quarterly drop in NPRs ever recorded. The whole thing was a bubble. And now that it’s bursting, we’re left staring at the reality: an aging population, weak natural increase, and no real growth.

The median age jumped again now over 40 and climbing fast. Seniors make up almost one in five Canadians. In Newfoundland and Labrador it’s even worse one in four people is over 65.

And the fertility numbers? They’re catastrophic. StatsCan’s Fertility and baby names, 2024 release shows Canada’s fertility rate hit a record low of 1.25 children per woman last year. That’s what demographers call “ultra-low fertility”, essentially demographic free fall.

Nine provinces set new records for fewest babies ever — Nova Scotia (1.08), Prince Edward Island (1.10), Ontario (1.21), Quebec (1.34), Northwest Territories (1.39), Alberta (1.41), Manitoba (1.50), Saskatchewan (1.58), and Nunavut (2.34). And in British Columbia, it’s basically extinction-level: just 1.02.

To even maintain a population, you need about 2.1 children per woman. To actually grow, you need more than that, closer to 2.3 or higher. Canada today is barely at half of replacement.

Meanwhile, the average age of mothers reached a record 31.8 years in 2024, up from 26.7 years in 1976. And here’s the part no one in government wants to talk about: biology doesn’t care about your housing market or your taxes. A woman in her late 20s has about an 85% chance of conceiving within a year. By the late 30s, it drops closer to 65%, and by 40 it’s around 40% with a much higher risk of miscarriage. By 45, natural conception is rare. So when government policy makes people delay families into their 30s, it’s not just economics working against them it’s biology. That’s nearly five decades of steady delay, and it isn’t a cultural accident, it’s economics. People wait longer and longer to have kids because they simply can’t afford them.

So what happens when you make it impossible for people to start families? When the average mother is now 32, fertility is half of what’s needed, and biology is closing the door? People stop having kids. And that isn’t just about culture, it’s about economics.

Let’s go to the Labour Force Survey. The numbers are devastating. In August, Canada lost 66,000 jobs. The unemployment rate jumped to 7.1%, the highest in years . Almost all those job losses were part-time work, exactly the kind of entry jobs young people use to get their start.

And it gets worse. Students, the people who should be building toward families just endured the worst summer job market since 2009. Unemployment for returning students averaged 17.9% . That’s an entire generation being sidelined before they even begin.

Even for those with jobs, the paycheques aren’t enough. Nearly 1 in 11 workers says they need more hours just to cover basic expenses. Among part-timers, almost a quarter said outright: I need more work to pay my bills .

So add this up: collapsing job prospects, shrinking hours, higher costs, and delayed families. The result isn’t a mystery. It’s why fertility is tanking, why people are waiting longer, and why the average Canadian is getting older by the day. And the real measure of prosperity—real GDP per person—backs it up: it fell 0.4% in Q2-2025, and for all of 2024 it was down 1.4% after –1.3% in 2023. In other words, your slice of the economy is getting smaller, not bigger.

This is why I hammer the spin, the government, the state media chorus—because when you strip away the talking points and look at the numbers, it’s devastating. The population barely grew once the visa bubble popped. We’re getting older fast. Fertility is at record lows. The labour market is weaker than advertised—fewer jobs, fewer hours, paycheques that don’t reach the end of the month. And the real scoreboard—GDP per person—says Canadians are getting poorer, not richer.

That’s not a narrative problem; it’s a reality problem. Families don’t form in a country where housing is out of reach, taxes and groceries gut your budget, and your share of the economy keeps shrinking. So spare me the press conferences. Build an economy where young people can buy a home, start a business, and have kids without a panic attack. Cut the cost-drivers. Reward work. Make family life possible again.

Until that happens, all the “record population” headlines are just a shell game. The people paid to challenge this BS aren’t doing it, so we will. Because the numbers aren’t partisan; they’re a warning. And if we ignore them, there won’t be much of a country left to argue over.

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Watchdog Calls Out Carney’s Lack of Ethics Code

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Watchdog Calls Out Carney’s Lack of Ethics Code

Published on September 25, 2025

Todayville

Dan Knight

Democracy Watch Demands PM Re-Enact Full Ministerial Code and End Conflicts by Selling Investments as House Committee Probes Loophole-Ridden Ethics Law

The House of Commons Ethics Committee is finally cracking open the federal Conflict of Interest Act. It’s the first real review in years. And it’s overdue. Today, Democracy Watch is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to do something simple and obvious: re-issue the Prime Minister’s code for ministers and staff—publicly, in full—and work with every party to shut the gaping loopholes that have turned Canada’s ethics rules into a suggestion box.

The only publicly posted rulebook is still the 2015 “Open and Accountable Government” guide. It wasn’t signed by Mark Carney. It was signed by Justin Trudeau. Before that, Stephen Harper had his own “Accountable Government” code in 2007, which he strengthened in 2011. Paul Martin re-issued the code in 2004 as “Responsible Government,” and Jean Chrétien was the first to bring it in back in 2002. Every Prime Minister for more than two decades has put their name to a code—except Carney.

That’s a problem. Canadians deserve crystal-clear, enforceable standards: honesty, no apparent conflicts, decisions based on merit, real guardrails on political activity, fundraising, and dealings with lobbyists—and ministerial staff held to the same line. Put the rules in the PM’s own name or admit you plan to weaken them.

“Failing to re-enact the code—or watering it down—would gut already weak rules and further trash public trust,” said Duff Conacher, PhD (Law), Co-founder of Democracy Watch. “Canadians want standards with teeth, not press releases dressed up as ethics.”

Here’s what’s driving the urgency. The Conflict of Interest Act still lets the Prime Minister park massive holdings behind instruments branded as “blind trusts” or “ethics screens.” In practice, those devices often conceal participation; they don’t prevent it. That’s not oversight. That’s camouflage. Democracy Watch’s position is blunt: if you want to end the conflicts, sell the assets. Full divestment, including buyouts of stock options by Brookfield and any other connected companies, as past inquiries recommended.

“Prime Minister Carney’s so-called blind trust is not blind, and his ethics screen is an opaque mechanism that invites doubt about who benefits when the government acts,” Conacher said. “The fix is obvious: sell the investments. Anything less keeps Canadians in the dark.”

Parliament now has a choice. Use this committee review to close loopholes around blind trusts and ethics screens. Spell out what “improperly furthering private interests” really means. Put real independence, transparency, and penalties into law. And stop the double standard: cabinet and staff should face rules at least as tough as those on public servants and senators.

Democracy Watch is also urging broader reforms: clean up lobbying secrecy, slash the federal donation limit to cut off cash-for-access politics, protect whistleblowers who tell the truth, fix the federal access-to-information black box, and take the appointment of watchdogs out of the hands of the very politicians they’re supposed to police—no re-appointments, no cozy incentives.

And let’s be clear: this isn’t just Democracy Watch griping. It has credible grounding in the history of Canadian ethics law. The 1984 Starr–Sharp Task Force laid out a blueprint for a comprehensive ministerial code. Justice Parker’s 1987 commission went further, flatly recommending an end to the shell game of so-called blind trusts and, in cases of serious conflicts, requiring divestment. Parliament’s own research notes confirm it: the idea that you can “screen” away conflicts was discredited almost forty years ago. The fix was spelled out back then.

And yet here we are, in 2025, with a Prime Minister sitting on massive investments, hiding behind loopholes, and ducking responsibility to even sign his own code of conduct. Canadians see it. They know the difference between rules with teeth and ethics theatre.

Enough posturing. Enough smoke and mirrors. Re-enact the full PM Code today. Tighten the Act tomorrow. And end the Prime Minister’s conflicts by selling the assets outright. That’s how you rebuild trust, by earning it, by setting an example, and by standing on principle.

But let’s be honest: he won’t do it. He won’t because these Liberals are swamp creatures to their core. They talk transparency while cashing in behind the curtain. They preach accountability while hiding their own dealings. Canadians know it, and they’re sick of it.

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Taxpayers: Stop wasting money and scrap the gun ban

Published on September 24, 2025

Todayville

By Gage Haubrich

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to scrap its failing gun ban and confiscation program after announcing a pilot project to confiscate firearms from individual Canadians.

“Law enforcement experts have stated the gun ban and confiscation won’t make Canadians safer,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Confiscating guns from licenced gun owners won’t keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals.

“Taxpayers can’t afford to spend another dollar on what is amounting to be an absurdly expensive piece of government performance art.”

The federal government announced that it will starting a pilot project to confiscate firearms from individuals in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

The federal government banned more than 2,500 models of firearms since 2020. Before they were banned, all those firearms were used for hunting or sports shooting by Canadians who passed safety tests and background checks.

The police and other experts have publicly stated this scheme won’t make Canadians safer.

“It won’t impact crime rates,” said Doug King, a professor of justice studies at Mount Royal University.

The National Police Federation, the union representing the RCMP, says Ottawa’s program “diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms.”

“We know that the gun buyback program is going to have, essentially, zero impact on the crime in Toronto,” said Clayton Campbell, the president of the Toronto Police Association.

Since the guns were initially banned in 2020, meaning it’s illegal to use them, violent firearm crimes in Canada have increased.

The government said the confiscation would cost taxpayers $200 million in 2019. In reality, the cost of providing compensation for the confiscated guns could be up to $756 million, not including administration costs, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Other experts have put the total cost at more than $6 billion.

The government has a history of ballooning costs for these programs. The government initially promised the long-gun registry would cost taxpayers only $2 million. The final tab was more than $2 billion.

“Cops, academics, licenced gun owners and everyday taxpayers know that this program won’t do anything to make Canadians safer,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director “The federal government needs to listen to the police and scrap this program before another penny of taxpayers’ money is wasted.”