A very old blog post

By the nature of things oldest person is a title that's rarely held for long. In the news this weekend was the death of Britain's oldest person. Gladys Cooper dead at the age of 113 on the Isle of Wight yielding the title to 112 years old Bessie Camm from Rotherham.

According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) she is some years behind Emma Morano, 116, the world's oldest person who assumed the crown on 12 May this year. She is the "last surviving link to the 1800s", but has a way to go to beat the record of Jeanne Calment, who died age 122, and even the oldest man ever, notwithstanding Methuselah, Jiroemon Kimura who lived to 116.

Canada doesn't appear on the GRG list of 48 living supercentenarians (110+). The oldest ever, according the GRG listing, was Margaret Fitzgerald who died age 113 yr, 34 days in 2009. Wikipedia lists her as only the 8th oldest Canadian with Marie-Louise Meilleur who died age 117 years, 230 days taking top spot for longevity.

Currently, according to Wikipedia, the oldest living Canadian is said to be 111 year old Ellen Gibb. This is not verified by the GRG.

According to Statistics Canada as of the 1911 Canadian census there were 5,825 people aged 100 years and older, compared to 4,635 in 2006 and 3,795 in 2001.

Men born in 1911 had a 0.3% chance to reach the age of 100, according to their cohort life table. For women born in 1911, the chances were higher, at 4.3%. Will Prime Minister Trudeau ensure equality prevails, because it's 2016?