The Canadian population surpassed a telling milestone today. For the first time ever, there are more seniors citizens than children. The greying trend will have a big impact on the country for decades to come. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 1 in 6 Canadians or 16.1% is at least 65 years old.

That compares to 16.0% of children 14 years of age and younger. While the difference is only 0.1%, it is still significant because it marks the start of a growing trend that will determine how and where we spend our tax dollars.

Every Tuesday at Ottawa’s Carlingwood mall, a gang of seniors meets in the food court to chat and pass the time. Almost all of them are over 80 years of age and all generally healthy. It is a snapshot of Canadian society today.

‘Keep busy,’ says Shirley Provost, ‘Gotta keep moving; use it or lose it,’ she says with a chuckle.

Clearly, they are using it because for the first time, this demographic, the 65-plus, is outpacing those at the other end of the age spectrum.

Figures from Statistics Canada spell it out. In 1995, the number of children 0-14 in Canada far outnumbered seniors; 20.4% vs. 12%. In 2005, those figures dropped to 17.7% vs. 13%. In 2015, the number of children is now lower at 16% vs. seniors at 65.1%.

‘I think our population should be having more babies,’ says senior Shirley Angelo, ‘It’s sad I think.’

This situation isn't unique to Canada. It is happening across the industrialized world. Of the G7 countries, Canada and the United States have the lowest proportion of people over 65. Japan’s population is among the oldest in the world, according to Statistics Canada.

Nora Spinks with the Vanier Institute of the Family says this brings great opportunities for both young and old alike.

‘We’ve got all kinds of potential for this population to provide leadership and guidance to the generations following them,’ says Spinks.

But it also brings enormous concerns as well.

‘When I saw that I was shocked,’ says senior Mike Abbas, ‘who's going to support the seniors down the road?’

They are concerns being echoed by health professionals, too. The head of the Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Jack Kitts, calls it a coming tsunami with predictions that cancer rates in our city will increase to 40% in the next 15 years.

For those in the ‘sandwich’ generation, it is particularly troubling.

‘It’s tough,’ says Andrea Spanglet, a mother of two young children, ‘I’ve got elderly parents to look after and younger kids to look after.’

‘It’s a big worry, the health care costs,’ adds senior Jan Wright.

According to Statistics Canada, this trend will continue as the baby boomers age. By 2024, it predicts the number of people aged 65 and over to increase to 20.1% while the share of children aged 0 to 14 will settle around 16.3%.