Market demographics and the future

Sept 13, 2022

Several years ago now, at the NMMA Canada Recreational Boating Industry Breakfast at the Toronto Boat Show, I showed a chart of Canada’s population by age group and graphically, it was clear that the Baby Boomers continue to be a large group and significant group.

In a recent Bloomberg News story, one of Canada’s big banks estimated that $750 billion will be inherited by members of the Boomer generation over the next decade. Of course, every year we all get one year older. CIBC says there are currently about 2.5 million Canadians over the age of 75 and they hold an estimated total net worth of $900 billion or more. As those older Canadians pass on, the bank projects that the beneficiaries of this wealth will be mainly Canadians currently aged between 50 and 75 years.

Based on the average figure of $180,000 that Canadians in the 50-75 age cohort have actually received through inheritance over the past decade, CIBC says the average inheritance in the coming years is likely to be even higher than that, due to the increased value of assets — particularly homes.

Traditionally, the best market for the boating industry has been with those in the 50 to 75-year-old group who can finally afford vacation homes and live-aboard boats, perhaps as a result of an inheritance. My expectation is that our business should strengthen through the coming years – perhaps markedly as this major generational wealth transfer takes place.

Does this pattern fit with what you are seeing in your business? I suspect that the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of our government’s fiscal response to that will continue to distort the market for a while longer, but it seems reasonable to expect that we will enjoy good times for many years to come.

As the Labour Day weekend has now passed for 2022, we hope that your summer season has been a great success and that you are already planning for a strong year in 2023.

Andy Adams – Editor