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How do you grow an agri-food business when there are simply fewer mouths to feed?

CHARLEBOIS: The calorie economy is ending Back to video

It may sound like a distant concern, but it is rapidly becoming one of the defining economic questions facing the global food industry. After climate change, demographic decline could well become the greatest long-term challenge for agriculture, food manufacturing, retail and foodservice.

The latest figures from Quebec’s Institute of Statistics (ISQ) illustrate the point. In 2025, Quebec’s population declined slightly — the first decrease in more than half a century. As of January 1, 2026, the province’s population stood at approximately 9.03 million, down by about 9,600 people. The decline was driven primarily by a reduction in non-permanent residents, including temporary foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers. At the same time, Quebec continues to age, with deaths now outnumbering births. Looking ahead, the ISQ projects that the province’s population will eventually stabilize at roughly 9.2 million, although demographic trajectories will differ considerably from one region to another.

Quebec is hardly an outlier.

Demographic momentum starting to fade

Across Canada,........

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