3. Aging population

Linguistic mobility towards English will have contributed over the years to the accelerated aging of the Franco-Ontarian population, compared to the rest of Ontario. This aging of the population will increase in 2028, when the number of people aged 65 and over will reach 165,831, a proportion of 25.6%, according to the reference scenario (Appendix 1).

In 2016, by comparison with the entire population of Ontario, there were proportionally more Francophones aged 45 and over and proportionally less Francophones aged 45 and under.⁸ Similarly, the proportion of Francophones aged 65 and older was higher (19.5%) than that of the entire population of Ontario (16.2%). In 2016, the regions with the oldest Francophone populations were the Southwest (29.5%) and the Northwest (26.9%).

If the proportion of men and women were equal in the Northeast (50%), the latter represented a majority in all other regions, comprising upwards of 54% of the population in Central Ontario. This fact can be explained, in part, by the aging of the population, given that women continue to have a longer life expectancy⁹ than men. This greater presence of women will therefore increase slightly. The proportion and number of elderly people will grow during that period and until 2031, when the baby boomers will have reached, at least, the age of 65.¹⁰