While more than half of the world's population is still confronted by the “Malthusian menace” of poverty, hunger, and disease, Canadians have been able to enjoy a steadily rising level of well-being. The phenomenal expansion of the Canadian economy has not only facilitated improvements in the general standard of living, but has also given impetus to significant demographic changes in this country.
Contrary to the “predictions” made by some demographers, the pre-war downward trend in fertility was reversed in the early years of the Second World War, and a “baby boom” set in, in Canada as elsewhere. Even after the boom had subsided in most other countries and their birth rates had shown a sign of swinging back to the pre-war level, Canada's growth in population continued to gather momentum. Sustained high fertility, steadily declining mortality, and resumption of immigration on a substantial scale following the war have resulted in an impressive enlargement of Canada's human resources. Shifts in vital trends and in immigration in recent years have also modified the structure of the Canadian population. Furthermore, advances in industrial technology and consequent alterations in the utilization of manpower have stimulated a large-scale geographical and occupational redistribution of the population. The trend toward a decrease in population in the farm areas, a heavy influx of migrants into metropolitan centres, and the suburban development of some of the oldest cities of the country are but manifestations of demographic response to social and economic changes occurring in present-day Canada.