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On Wednesday, experts and policy-makers will be looking for clues about which age cohorts are growing, which are on the decline, where various age groups are choosing to live and the type of housing they prefer.

Wednesday’s numbers are expected to show that on census day 2016, which was May 10, the percentage of those over 65 was roughly equal to the percentage of those aged 15 and under.

Such a shift would be a dramatic and historic swing from the height of the baby boom 50 years ago, when seniors comprised less than eight per cent of the population and the youngest cohort was 34 per cent, said Doug Norris, chief demographer at Environics Analytics.

Nonetheless, the census figures are expected to show Canada remains one of the youngest countries in the G20, Norris said.

“Canada is aging more than many other countries, but we’re still at a lower level, even with that faster change, than certainly most European countries,” said Norris, who spent three decades at Statistics Canada.

“There may be some things we can learn from countries that are dealing with the kind of population we’re going to face in another decade or two.”

It’s unprecedented historically because people have never lived this long

Some of those lessons are already being put into practice: urban planners are thinking about how to build a city that allows Canadians to age in place by staying in their homes as long as possible. At the same time, businesses and governments are thinking about ways to keep people in the workforce longer, including incentives for individuals to retire later than 65 and incentives for businesses to hire young and old.

With more Canadians living longer, older baby boomers are finding themselves caring for elderly parents, adult children and grandchildren, said Michael Haan, an associate professor in the school of sociology at Western University in London, Ont.

The trend may carry over to their children, Haan added: the boomers are expected to be one of the longest-lived generations of Canadians ever.

“This is really incredible, and it’s unprecedented historically because people have never lived this long.”