
January 11, 2024
UN Report: Interlinkages Between Demographic Change, Migration, and Urbanization in Canada: Policy Implications
An overview of policy implications on demographic change, migration, and urbanization in Canada
January 11, 2024
Megatrends affecting families are closely interconnected. Demographic change occurs as families adapt to changing social, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. These changes, in turn, can prompt migration both within and across national boundaries. Migration is linked to increasing urbanization as families seek to improve their wellbeing through resources typically concentrated in urban areas. Even so, as families migrate to urban areas, they may struggle to find adequate and affordable housing, sufficient food, suitable employment, care for dependent children and adults, and accessible health care. These challenges motivate us to examine how governments and civil society organizations are attempting to ensure the wellbeing of families under such transition and uncertainty.
This paper explores interlinkages between three megatrends identified by the United Nations that affect family wellbeing—demographic change, migration, and urbanization—with consideration of policy implications for families in Canada. The focus is on two leading demographic trends common to other high-income nations: the declining fertility rate and an aging population. Another demographic trend, the increasing proportion of the population in Canada who are immigrants, is also examined with attention to consequences for family wellbeing.
Hilbrecht, M. (2023, November 11). Interlinkages between demographic change, migration, and urbanization in Canada: Policy implications. In preparation for the 30th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family, 2024, UN DESA Expert Group Meeting: Megatrends and Families: Focus on Demographic Change, Migration, and Urbanization in North America, Orlando, FL, USA. https://doi.org/10.61959/s240303r
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