It has often been suggested that the Town of Niagara on the Lake is dominated by its grey-haired citizens over the age of 65. That generality has always bothered me since, as I do our grocery shopping every week, there seems to be an almost equal number of shoppers south of 65 to those of us north of that age.

To satisfy my curiosity, I did a bit of research.

For the purposes of simplicity, I established the age groups in five categories: zero to 19 years, 20 to 34 years, 35 to 54 years, 55 to 64 years and 65-plus years.

The following is based on Statistics Canada census data from 2022: there were 2,930 residents under the age of 19; 2,350 who fell into the group that was 20 to 34 years old; the 35 to 54 year category numbered 3,555; in the 55-to-64-year range we had 4,430 folks; and, the grey-haired residents over the age of 65 totalled 6,900.

In aggregate, NOTL’s citizenry under the age of 55 totalled 8,835; 1,935 (or about 22 per cent) greater than the total number of residents over the age of 64. And, sandwiched between, are the 4,430 individuals of late-middle age.

So, in real terms, the majority of town residents are actually under the age of 65 — a fact that is far too often forgotten in the push and pull of municipal governance vis-à-vis planning and services.

Moreover, one is forced to ponder why the demographic group between the ages of 20 and 34 actually numbers the fewest of all the categories.

Certainly part of the answer is that many individuals generally between the ages of 18 and 23 are pursuing post-secondary education in other jurisdictions — some, if they choose to engage in graduate studies, are older.

However, I suspect the real reasons for the small number in this age group are more prosaic.

Namely, there are fewer career opportunities in Niagara-on-the-Lake and its surrounding environs than elsewhere in Ontario and, perhaps even more impactful, housing is simply too expensive and scarce in this town for individuals just beginning their future work trajectory.

Quite bluntly, hospitality, viticulture and agriculture are the career choices of a comparable few, not the many. The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has focused for so long and with single-minded purpose on tourism that it has largely become a single-source economy.

How do you attract a younger career engaged population if the job opportunities are absent?

Further, if — as has been the case to date — new housing developments are geared to the more mature incomes of the 35-to-54 age demographic and no purpose-built, affordable rental buildings are developed, the community effectively denies settlement by those who are in the early stages of their working life and arguably those who are not “doctors and lawyers and such.”

Speaking of the “middle-aged” category, it is this group whose children have been, are being and will be forced to move away from NOTL for job opportunities and affordable living accommodation.

That said, it appears that both the 20-to-34 and 35-to-55 age groups are notably less politically engaged than their over-65 counterparts.

Very oddly, there is a dearth of published data in Ontario regarding voter turnout by age. In fact, neither the provincial nor most municipal governments in this province actually produce this metric.

However, the sole exception in the Niagara region is the City of Niagara Falls  — visit open.niagarafalls.ca/search and you will find data from the last municipal election under “Niagara Falls 2022 Election Results – Recorded Electors by Age.“

It is immediately apparent from this data that the voter turnout in the 20-to-34 age category is approximately 66 per cent lower than that of the 65-plus crowd, while the 34-to-54 group is not significantly better, at about 50 per cent of its older counterparts.

Despite total voter turnaround being notably higher in Niagara-on-the-Lake versus Niagara Falls during the 2022 election, I suspect we can generalize the voter turnout percentages by age over both municipalities. In real terms, these age groups are demonstrably less politically involved than the over 65 demographic.

This proposition is supported by the recent survey results published by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Residents Association (visit notlra.com and hover over the “Governance” tab at the top of website to find the “2026 Survey Results” page), wherein only 23 per cent of survey respondents were under the age of 65 while the remaining 77 per cent of people responding were over that age.      

The future of this town should be charted not by the old, but by those who will inherit for decades to come and if not for themselves then for their children.

The majority is not speaking and we desperately need to hear their voices.  

Brian Marshall is a NOTL realtor, author and expert consultant on design, restoration and heritage.