Growing Old Gracefully: How can the G7 Mitigate the Effects of its Ageing Populations?

By Hannah McLennan - 10 June 2018

Growing Old Gracefully: How can the G7 Mitigate the Effects of its Ageing Populations?

With more people now aged over 65 than under 15 across the G7 nations, the major economies in the West face a unique challenge. The task of filling the gap left by seniors as they leave the workforce, coupled with the decreased ability for an older generation to find new jobs in the age of automation, means the G7 is facing nothing short of a crisis. This policy brief explores how the 44th G7 Summit in Charlevoix handled the topic of population ageing. It provides a background to the demographic time bomb in the West and discusses why ageing populations are a problem specifically relevant to the G7. It also notes how the issue of an ageing population has been discussed at previous summits, paying particular attention to the 2016 Ise-Shima Summit in Japan at which the topic featured heavily within the context of health. Finally it will turn to this year’s summit and how Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau grappled with the topic in both the lead up to Charlevoix and at the final summit.