Canada’s electoral encyclopedia

Social generations in PoliCan

by Maurice Y. Michaud (he/him)

GenXers
© Photo — pikisuperstar @ Freepik

PoliCan uses the timeline of generations in the Western world according to the Pew Research Center. However, because the first generation in that timeline begins in 1883, PoliCan has created for its purposes four more generations before that:

  1. Confederation Generation (1867–1882):.
    For those born since the Canadian Confederation.
     
  2. Post-Rebellions Generation (1837–1866):.
    A large slice by Pew standards for those born from the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions to Confederation.
     
  3. Canadas Generation (1791—1836):.
    Another large slice for all those born during the time of the Upper and Lower Canadas.
     
  4. Colonial Generation (1763–1790):.
    A final large slice for all those born from the Treaty of Paris to the creation of the Upper and Lower Canadas.
PoliCan is programmed to start showing the Alpha generation beginning in 2031 and the Beta generation in 2043, when the oldest of those cohorts will have reached the age of 18.

This is the generational breakdown of individuals with a full profile in PoliCan whose birth year is known.

Code Name Years Frequencies
Z Zoomer (Z) Generation 1997 2012 12 4 0 16 16
Y Millennial (Y) Generation 1981 1996 183 101 4 285 288
X Generation X 1965 1980 599 279 2 866 880
BB Baby Boomer 1946 1964 1,829 547 1 2,085 2,377
S Silent Generation 1928 1945 2,004 267 0 984 2,271
G Greatest Generation 1901 1927 2,268 89 0 5 2,357
L Lost Generation 1883 1900 1,551 32 0 0 1,583
C Confederation Generation 1867 1882 1,716 14 0 0 1,730
PR Post-Rebellions Generation 1837 1866 2,629 3 0 0 2,632
CA Canadas Generation 1791 1836 1,338 0 0 0 1,338
CO Colonial Generation 1763 1790 4 0 0 0 4
∑ → 14,133 1,336 7 4,241 15,476

Now that we now know the numbers, wouldn’t it be interesting to know:



© 2005, 2025 :: PoliCan.ca (Maurice Y. Michaud)
Pub.:  5 Jul 2025 15:50
Rev.: 17 Oct 2025 18:34 (but data presented dynamically)