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Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says immediate action is required to ensure younger Canadians won't be struggling to support the nation's rapidly aging population.

Speaking to Toronto's Canadian Club on Tuesday, Finley stressed the urgency of revamping Old Age Security lest younger Canadians be confronted with higher taxes or fewer social programs in the future.

"We will need to ensure that our government has the fiscal room to meet the various needs of an aging population ... without putting an undue tax burden on younger generations," she said.

The speech signals a marked shift in the way the federal government has been discussing proposed changes to public pension benefits.

Many of Finley's points were directed at younger Canadians specifically. She repeated several times that it was them who would feel the effects of sweeping changes to OAS.

By 2030, she noted that Canada is expected to have more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 14. With the number of seniors slated to double, Finley said Canada must adapt to ensure it has the resources to support its population.

"We need to approach the future on our toes, not on our heels," she said.

Keith Ambachtsheer of the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management says demographic changes in Canada over the next few years will require a difficult discussion on public pensions.

"We are going from four workers per retiree to two workers per retiree. That's a huge shift," he said on CTV's Power Play. "That's a different labour market, that's a different economy."

Ambachtsheer said the labour force will have significant gaps in 20 years, and some people will need to push back retirement.

Finley acknowledged that the next federal budget will involve changes to OAS, which provides $500 a month to 98 per cent of people over 65. She stopped short, however, of outlining how the government intends to change the program.

Next month's budget will reveal exactly how the public pension program will change.

Many anticipate that the retirement eligibility age will be raised to 67 from 65. If that option is adopted, it will be phased in over time.

Regardless, both Finley and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have branded the current program as unsustainable and too costly in light of Canada's growing retiree population.

The word "sustainable" carried through into Finley's speech Tuesday as she warned that Canada's current OAS program can't be supported by a rapidly shrinking tax base.

"If we want to succeed, and indeed win, we have to adapt to the population aging," she said.

Finley's message is at odds with a recent report from Canada's budget watchdog, which suggests that the nation's current system can support the impending wave of retiring baby boomers. Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page publicized his findings in early February, drawing the ire of Conservatives looking to overhaul OAS.

Still, Harper's Conservatives haven't wavered on their public pension stance, stressing that the proposed changes to OAS won't cost current seniors any more money.

The speech is Finley's first major address since she triggered a major backlash in January, with comments suggesting the current system is unsustainable.