The paper examines some of the key characteristics of seniors, including population, education, language, labour force and income characteristics. The proportion of seniors in the P.E.I. population was only slightly less than the proportion of seniors in the Nova Scotia population. Nova Scotia and P.E.I. had the two highest shares in Atlantic Canada and the 4th and 3rd highest share, respectively, of all Canadian Provinces. Twelve percent were in the very oldest age category of 85 years of age and over. The percent of female seniors increases as the age categories increase.
Senior women outnumber senior men mainly because women have lower mortality rates.
The percentage increase in the female senior population was almost twice that of the percentage increase in the male senior population. Over the next 20 years the senior population is expected to grow at an even faster rate. The largest single increase will be in the 65-69 year olds. Statistics Canada has projected that by the year 2016. . . Ninety-two percent of all seniors in P.E.I. were English speaking only at the time of the 1996 Census.