OTTAWA (CP) New census data indicate senior citizens make up 6.7 per cent of the population of Whitehorse.

That's a larger proportion than five years ago and a trend that reflects the continuing greying of Canada.

Information from the 2006 census released today by Statistics Canada shows that seniors those aged 65 and older represent 6.7 per cent of the overall population of Whitehorse.

Five years ago, 5.6 per cent were seniors.

The census also indicates those from the baby boomer generation account for 34.4 per cent of the population of Whitehorse a segment of society that is approaching senior-citizen status.

The breakdown of other generational cohorts in Whitehorse: parents of baby boomers make up 4.7 per cent; those born during the Second World War represent 5.0 per cent; the so-called baby busters, born after the boomer generation, are 13.2 per cent and children of baby boomers make up 29.2 per cent.

Nationally, seniors are making up a larger proportion of the Canadian population 13.7 per cent of the population in 2006, up from 13.0 per cent of the 2001 population. Twenty-five years ago, just 9.7 per cent of Canada's population was seniors and in 1961, it was only 7.6 per cent.

Canada's population as a whole has been gradually getting older for many years no matter how you measure it, either by the number of seniors or the median age.

The implications of an aging population raise complex social challenges: pressures on the health care system, concerns about seniors having adequate savings and pensions for retirement, more people leaving the workforce than entering it.

One of the reasons why Canadian society is getting older is that the country's fertility rate is relatively low.

Census data released earlier this year showed the national fertility rate the average number of children a woman will have between age 15 and 49 was just 1.5, far below the 2.1 per woman it takes to replace the dying population.

The number of children in Whitehorse those aged 14 and under makes up 19.5 per cent of the community's population. Nationally, children represent 17.7 per cent of Canadian society.

When the census data were collected in May 2006, the median age of Whitehorse was 36.8, compared to 35.1 in 2001.

Statistics Canada defines median age as the point where exactly one half of the population is older than the median age and the other half is younger.

The median age for the Yukon in 2006 was 38.4. Five years ago, the territorial median age was 36.1. The new census data also show Canada's median age was 39.5 in 2006, compared with 37.6 in 2001.

At the territorial level, the senior population rose to 7.5 per cent in 2006 from 6.0 per cent from the previous census.

Saskatchewan had the highest proportion of seniors among all Canadian provinces and territories, with those 65 and over making up 15.4 per cent of the population.

The breakdown for other provinces and territories: Nova Scotia (15.1); Prince Edward Island (14.9); New Brunswick (14.7); British Columbia (14.6); Quebec (14.3); Manitoba (14.1); Newfoundland and Labrador (13.9); Ontario (13.6); Alberta (10.7); Yukon Territory (7.5); Northwest Territories (4.8); Nunavut (2.7).

The new census data released today also break down the population by sex.

In 2006, the population of Whitehorse was made up of 10,400 females (a change of +7.2 per cent from the 2001 census) and 10,065 males (a change of +7.5 per cent).

The census is conducted every five years by Statistics Canada and is based on information filled out by Canadians on census day: May 16, 2006.

The data released today on age and sex follow information on overall population growth released in March.

Future census information to be released by Statistics Canada over the coming months will give demographic breakdowns of a variety of topics, including marital status, language, immigration, labour force activity and education.