Summary
- The overall size of the health care sector is expanding fast due to the ageing population.
- Since health care assistants play a critical role in the health sector of Canada, their demand is also increasing with time.
- Old population of Canada is growing fast, and the number of people over 60 rose to 3.5 million in 1997, 6.2 million in 2017, and is predicted to reach 10.7 million by 2037.
- In December 2024, the job bank reported an expected shortage of over 20,000 health care assistants by 2031.
Canada needs health care assistants for a number of reasons. Some of the prominent ones include an ageing population, a fast increase in population due to immigration, retirement of baby boomers, etc. If you are interested in the health care industry, a health care assistant program could be a good choice for you.
In this blog, we will talk about three core reasons how these factors are fuelling the demand for health care assistants in Canada. We will also talk about the career options in this field and how you can benefit from them.
Health Care Assistants and Canada’s growing old population
The overall size of the health care sector is expanding fast due to the ageing population. This has also directly impacted different sub-sectors within the health care sector of the country. Since health care assistants play a critical role in the health sector of Canada, their demand is also increasing with time.
People in Canada are living longer than ever before, and the country is growing older with each decade that goes by. People are living longer thanks in large part to scientific developments in the medical area and general improvements in the health care system. These are a few of the primary causes of the nation’s ongoing need for healthcare professionals.
People 75 and older are rising at a greater rate than other demographic groups, and this trend is predicted to continue in 2025 and for the next 20 years. For example, in 1977, the number of adults over 60 was only 2 million.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the old population of Canada is growing fast, and the number of people over 60 rose to 3.5 million in 1997, 6.2 million in 2017, and is predicted to reach 10.7 million by 2037.
Sharp Jump in Population
Canada’s population is growing fast. In fact, very fast. In 2023, Statistics Canada reported that Canada was the fastest-growing G7 nation and would rank first among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for population growth in 2022.
According to the government of Canada, Canada’s population would double in 26 years if it continued to grow at a rate of 2.7% annually.
Canada heavily depends on immigration to even maintain its population growth. For instance, about 96% of population growth in the country was because of immigration in 2023.
Up until 2050, it was predicted that the populations of the G7 nations—Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States—would continue to grow. Because of ageing populations and declining birth rates, the populations of Germany, Italy, and Japan are expected to continue to drop.
Immigration is Not Enough to Meet Demand
Due to the ageing population and other such factors, the demand for health care assistants will continue to be higher than the supply. Domestic colleges in Canada are training new health care assistants, but the demand is so high that the country has to rely on the immigrant population to fill in the job vacancies.
In December 2024, the job bank reported an expected shortage of over 20,000 health care assistants by 2031. The job bank has updated its data in 2025, saying that “this occupation is expected to face a strong risk of labour shortage over the period of 2024-2033 at the national level.”
“Because the occupation was showing strong signs of shortage conditions in the recent years, and the projected flows of job openings and job seekers are expected to be similar, the occupation is expected to face a strong risk of shortage through the projection period,” according to the Government of Canada.
Given that there is a shortage of health care assistants and that it is expected to persist for some time to come, becoming a health care assistant is a very profitable career choice.
Conclusion
Health care assistants are expected to play an integral role in the health care system in Canada. The demographic changes are directly impacting their job openings, and data shows this trend will continue to persist in the next decade or so.
Join Edison College’s Health Care Assistant with Co-op Diploma
If you are interested in entering the health care industry, getting a health care assistant diploma can help you make a good career.
Edison College offers a Health Care Assistant with Co-op Diploma in which students get the fundamental skills required to provide client care in a range of care environments.
Personal care, helping with mobility and nutrition needs, communication, helping with medication, and professional skills linked to acute and palliative care are among the courses in this program. The co-op health care assistant program at Edison College equips students for a variety of career options in the medical industry.
Graduates of our BC Health Care Assistant Co-op Program can find employment in acute care hospitals, assisted living institutions, long-term care facilities, group homes, and in the community as home care providers.
You can also contact us if you need more information.
Read more industry-related blogs here.
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