Population Change and Public Policy is one of 31 clusters funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2004-2005 to design a research network.

The proposed network will study the challenges posed by demographic change in advanced industrial societies with a focus on Canada. Its importance lies in the  recognition that:

• population trends have wide-ranging consequences for, among others, labour force recruitment and for social programmes such as health care and pension systems; and
•  demographic change and its consequences are mediated by other social trends and institutions ranging from family change to the education system and the macro-economy.

Public policies that could be considered based on the research of the network are: 

• policies that seek to influence the course of demographic events; and
• policy adjustments that are necessary in various areas because of the implications of population change.

For a quick look at what the project is all about, see Population Change and Public Policy poster.
For a detailed description of the research areas and structure design of the cluster, see Concept Paper.
For a report to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council on Cluster Design, see Final Report.