At a birthrate below 2.1 children per female, a population will shrink from the bottom up. Canada’s current birthrate is 1.6. The social and economic effects are becoming very real. Coupled with increased longevity, our shrinking birthrate will dramatically change the ratio of working-age people compared to the number of seniors receiving a pension. According to Statistics Canada, by 2031, there will be almost 1.2 million Canadians aged 85 and over—almost five times the current figure. In 1930, there were 60 people working for every retired person Unless this trend is reversed by 2030, there will be only two workers for every retiree.

Developed nations world-wide have only lately begun to pay close attention to the disastrous implications of this trend. Sadly, our Canadian government is one of the few that operates under the false assumption that any shortfall can be made up by increased immigration. Experts reveal that it cannot. Curiously, about the only people who do not believe that immigration benefits the economy, and the labour force reducing problems stemming from an aging population, are those whose business it is to research and study these questions. Yes, it is the economists, the demographers, the statisticians, and the academics. Typically, their findings received little media coverage and elicited no comment by government spokespeople.

Studies conducted by experts at the C.D. Howe Institute and Fraser Institute confirm that there are greater financial, economic and social benefits to be gained by shifting the priority in population management away from immigration and toward domestic growth. See: “The Effects of Mass Immigration on Canadian Living Standards and Society” by Herbert Grubel, June 2009. Since the very survival of a civilization and nation is at stake, it is paramount that the political solutions be aimed immediately towards domestic growth over a period of several generations.

The year 2011 marked the first year that Canada’s baby-boomers began entering retirement and their retirement income and health care are certainly not secure. At their inception, funding for programs such as Medicare, Old Age Security and Canada Pension was based on the assumption that the demographic trends of the 1960s would continue and that our population would continue to increase. These assumptions have proven to be entirely incorrect. For developed nations such as Canada, longer life expectancy, reduced fertility rates and the baby boomer bubble have contributed to an ageing population. Over time there will be fewer people entering the workforce than those leaving it, leading to a potentially devastating problem for the funding of pensions and medical care.

How can we reverse this trend and ensure we have more young Canadians entering the workforce and raising families?

The Christian Heritage Party of Canada is on side with the experts and will champion a reversal of this trend by advocating policies that will enhance domestic growth. The CHP will strengthen the traditional family unit as the most important building block for a strong and vibrant society and we offer the following practical solutions to accomplish this:

• CHP Canada will encourage churches and the educational systems to promote families and their children


• Pay down the debt (treat it like a mortgage) as rapidly as possible before the number of taxpayers further decreases


• Commence the transition to the ‘Fair Tax’ system, which will eliminate income tax and provide for a much larger take home pay for families with a single earner.


• Until the transition to Fair Tax is complete, allow for taxation on split incomes for single-income couples, (as has already been done with pensions), thereby reducing the taxes to be paid by single-income families.


• Advocate ‘Adoption over Abortion’. Set up an efficient adoption system so that every baby is a wanted baby. Ensure legal costs and government bureaucracy are not a major barrier preventing families from adopting. This will facilitate the ability of heterosexual married couples to adopt Canadian-born children. Canadian couples who are emotionally and financially stable and who wish to contribute through helping to nurture and raise the next generation should be helped, not hindered, in their efforts.


• The CHP will work with provinces to reinforce the primary role of parents, both adoptive and natural parents and to limit the intrusions of social workers into the homes of Canadians. It is the goal of CHP Canada to eliminate the unnecessary separation of children from their biological parents and to restore families when possible and practical.


• Enshrine legal protections for the unborn.


• Facilitate one parent to stay at home to manage the children’s school, sports and social activities diminishes the stress experienced by parents trying to cope with two full-time work schedules as well as childcare and other family responsibilities.

In order to preserve our culture and our Christian Heritage, CHP Canada is committed to strengthening our nation’s most important building block–the traditional family unit. We will lead our nation in the political cultural shift necessary to make that happen.

Updated: March 28, 2025