Wealth concentration is shaping who actually drives demand
Canada’s business landscape is being shaped by a demographic reality that is often discussed in isolation, but rarely examined as a system. A large share of the country’s economic power sits with one generation.
According to Statistics Canada, baby boomer–led households hold approximately half of all household wealth in Canada. This share has remained largely unchanged for more than a decade. By contrast, millennials, despite making up the largest share of the labour force, hold roughly 10 percent of household wealth. Even when combined with Generation X, younger cohorts hold just over one third.
This is not primarily about age. It is about structure.
Boomers are more likely to receive predictable income through pensions, Old Age Security, and investment returns. Their cash flow is less dependent on employment cycles. During economic disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, many younger workers experienced sudden income loss, while boomer income streams continued with relatively little interruption.
When economists refer to liquidity, they are describing this stability. Money that continues to arrive and circulate even when the broader economy slows. This concentration of liquidity shapes demand. It influences which services grow quietly, which businesses remain resilient during downturns, and where reliable cash flow exists for owners.
An aging population is changing how money moves through the economy
Older Canadians are not simply holding wealth. They are actively reshaping how it moves.
According to Royal LePage, more than 1.4 million Canadians aged 54 to 72 expect to purchase a home within the next five years. Some are downsizing for convenience. Others are relocating closer to family or leaving high-cost urban centres for smaller communities. Each relocation triggers a series of economic activities.
Home purchases and moves generate demand for staging, packing, repairs, cleaning, furnishing, and accessibility upgrades. Beyond the move itself, daily life increasingly involves outsourced support. As people age, maintaining independence often means paying for help rather than doing everything personally. These are not luxury purchases. They are practical responses to changing capacity and priorities.
Why this matters for starting and buying businesses
The same demographic forces shaping demand are also reshaping ownership.
Many of the businesses serving older consumers are owned by that same aging population. As owners approach retirement, more businesses are entering the market without clear succession plans. This increases the supply of businesses available for acquisition, while also raising questions about durability, owner dependence, and transferability.
At the same time, entrepreneurs starting new businesses are operating in an economy where much of the liquidity sits with older consumers. Businesses designed around reliability, trust, and convenience are often better aligned with where money is actually circulating.
As a result, the aging owner class is influencing business ownership in two directions at once. It is increasing the number of businesses that need new owners, while also shaping which types of businesses are most likely to perform steadily over time.
This shift helps explain why business ownership today feels less about novelty and more about alignment. Demographics, wealth concentration, and predictable income streams are quietly influencing which businesses start, which ones sell, and which ones endure.
