We’ve tried to put together a helpful list of Canadian statistics for your research, blog posts, and articles.
If there is a Canadian family statistic missing or needs updating, please let me know!
![canada children statistics](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/canada-children-statistics-1024x683.jpg)
How many kids do Canadians want?
- Average desired children: The average number of desired children is 1.50
- Percentage of people not planning to have kids: 34% of people aged 15 to 49 plan to have no children
- Percentage of people planning to have one child: 12% of people planned to have 1 child
- Percentage of people planning to have two children: 36% of people planned to have 2 children
- Percentage of people planning to have three children: 14% of people planned to have 3 children
- Percentage of people planning to have four or more children: 6% of people planned to have 4 children or more
- Desired number of children of people aged 15 to 24: The average number of desired children of those aged 15 to 24 is 1.35
- Desired number of children of people aged 25 to 34: The average number of desired children of those aged 25 to 34 is 1.51
- Desired number of children of people aged 35 to 49: The average number of desired children of those aged 35 to 49 is 1.58
Source: StatCan
![percentage of canadians with kids](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/percentage-of-canadians-with-kids-684x1024.jpg)
Percentage of Canadians With Children
- Percentage of Canadians with one or more children: 61% of Canadians aged 15 to 49 have one or more children
- Percentage of Canadians with stepchildren: 9% of Canadians aged 15 to 49 have at least one stepchild
- Percentage of Canadians with adopted children: 2% of Canadians aged 15 to 49 have at least one adopted child
- Number of people in Canada with adopted Children: 614,000 people aged 15 to 49 had at least one adopted children
Source: StatCan
![percentage of canadians with young kids](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/percentage-of-canadians-with-young-kids-1024x683.jpg)
Percentage of Canadian Families With Young Children By Province and Territory
The total number of Canadian families with young children aged 0 to 5 years is 1,643,320.
The percentage of Canadian families with at least one young child (ages 0 to 5 years):
Province or Territory | Percentage of Families |
---|---|
Alberta | 18.9% |
British Columbia | 14.3% |
Manitoba | 18.7% |
New Brunswick | 13.0% |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 11.7% |
Northwest Territories | 22.4% |
Nova Scotia | 13.3% |
Nunavut | 38.4% |
Ontario | 15.6% |
Prince Edward Island | 13.9% |
Quebec | 16.3% |
Saskatchewan | 19.1% |
Yukon | 18.4% |
![single parent families in canada statistics](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/single-parent-families-in-canada-statistics-1024x683.jpg)
Percentage of Single Parent Families In Canada
- Percentage of single parent families in Canada: 16.4% of families in Canada are single parent families
Percentage of single parent families by province and territory:
Province or Territory | Percentage of Families |
---|---|
Alberta | 15.2% |
British Columbia | 14.9% |
Manitoba | 17.0% |
New Brunswick | 16.4% |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 15.8% |
Northwest Territories | 23.3% |
Nova Scotia | 17.4% |
Nunavut | 33.2% |
Ontario | 17.1% |
Prince Edward Island | 15.5% |
Quebec | 16.5% |
Saskatchewan | 17.1% |
Yukon | 18.7% |
![Canada birth rate statistics](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Canada-birth-rate-statistics-1-1024x683.jpg)
Canada Birth Rate Statistics
- Live births in Canada per year: Between 2017 and 2021 Canada averaged 372,519 live births per year
- Average number of babies born per day in Canada: There are 1021 babies born per day in Canada on average
- Average number of multiples births in Canada: Canada has averaged 11,452 multiples births (twins or more) per year between 2017 and 2021
- Canadian birth rate increase in 2020: In 2021 the Canadian birth rate increased by 2% from 2020. This was the first time births increased in a year since 2016
- Trend of Canadian births declining: From 2011 to 2021 Canada saw births decline by an average of 0.3% per year.
- COVID-19 Impact on Canada birth rate: From 2019 to 2020 the Canadian birth rate decreased by 3.3% with COVID-19 likely being a significant factor
- Canada birth rate 2023: Canada’s birth rate in 2023 is 10.072 births per 1,000 people
- Canada birth rate from 2022 to 2023: Canada’s birth rate has declined from 2022 by 0.75%
- Number of children per woman in Canada: Canada has 1.43 children per woman as of 2021
Source: Macro Trends, Stat Can
![Canada birth weight statistics](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Canada-birth-rate-statistics-1024x678.jpg)
Canada Baby Birth Weight Statistics
- Canadian babies born weighing less than 1 pound: As of 2021, just 370 babies weighed less than 500 grams or 1.1 pound
- Canadian babies born weighing 5.5 to 9.9 pounds: As of 2021 91.7% of babies weigh between 2,500 and 4,499 grams or 5.5 to 9.9 pounds at birth
- Canadian babies born weighing 10 pounds or more: Canadian mothers have a 1.25% chance of having a baby weighing more than 4,500 grams or 10 pounds
Source: Stat Can
![Canada Outside of Hospital Birth Statistics](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Canada-hospital-birth-statistics-1024x683.jpg)
Canada Outside of Hospital Birth Statistics
- Percentage of Canadian births outside of hospitals: 2.4% of births occurred outside of hospitals in 2021, 2.1% in 2020 in Canada
- COVID-19 Increase in home births in Canada: The COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of births happening at home and in birthing centres for the first time since 2015
Source: Stat Can
![Mother's Age during delivery canada](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Mothers-Age-during-delivery-canada-1024x683.jpg)
Canadian Mother’s Age At Delivery
- Average age of Canadian moms giving birth: Canadian mothers are increasing in age. In 2001 the mother’s mean age at the time of delivery was 31 years old. In 2001 the mean age was 29 years old
- Percentage of Canadian 35 or older during delivery: 25% of Canadian mothers are of advanced maternal age (35 years old or older) during delivery as of 2021. This has increased from 16% in 2001
Source: Stat Can
Canada Infant Mortality Rate Statistics
- Canada’s infant mortality rate: Canada’s infant mortality rate in 2023 is 3.943 deaths per 1,000 live births
- Canada’s infant mortality rate world ranking: Canada ranks 21st in lowest mortality rate. 20th is the USA and 22nd is Cuba.
- Canada’s infant mortality from 2022 to 2023: Canada’s infant mortality rate has declined from 2022 by 2.76%
- Canada’s infant mortality rate trend: Canada’s infant mortality rate has declined every year since at least 1950
- Average number of fetal deaths per in year in Canada: Canada had an average of 3,130 fetal deaths per year between 2017 and 2021
Sources: Macro Trends, Stat Can, Data Commons
![Canadian family structure stats](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Canadian-family-structure-stats-1024x788.jpg)
Canadian Family Structure Statistics
Based on the 2021 Census of 10,262,920 Canadian Families
- Percentage of single-parent Canadian families: 16.4% of 2021 census families are single-parent families
- Number of single-parent Canadian families: 1,686,340 Canadian families are single-parent families as of the 2021 census
- Percentage of Canadian couples with children: 41.8% of 2021 census families have children
- Numbers of Canadian couples with children: 4,290,415 Canadian couples have children as of the 2021 census
- Percentage of Canadian couples without children: 41.8% of 2021 census families do not have children
- Number of Canadian couples without children: 4,286,165 Canadian couples do not have children as of the 2021 census
- Percentage of two-parent stepfamilies: 4.9% of 2021 census families are two-parent stepfamilies
- Number of two-parent stepfamilies: 503,475 Canadian couples with children are stepfamilies as of the 2021 census
![Canada maternity and paternity leave stats](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Canada-maternity-and-paternity-leave-stats-1024x678.jpg)
Canada Maternity and Parental Leave Statistics
- Percentage of Canadian parents taking leave from their jobs: 80% of parents between 2012 and 2017 took a leave (paid or unpaid) for the birth of their child or an adoption
- Percentage of Canadian moms taking maternity leave: 88% of mothers took maternity and/or parental leave as of 2017
- Percentage of Canadian fathers taking leave from work for birth of baby: 70% of fathers took leave from work for the birth of a child or adoption
- Percentage of Canadian dads taking parental leave: 46% of mothers took paternity and/or parental leave as of 2017
Source: StatCan
Average Age of First-Time Canadian Moms
The average age of a first-time mom in Canada is 29.4 as of 2019.
The average age of a first-time mom by province or territory:
Province or Territory | Average Age |
---|---|
Alberta | 29.2 |
British Columbia | 30.4 |
Manitoba | 27.9 |
New Brunswick | 27.4 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 28.2 |
Northwest Territories | 28.3 |
Nova Scotia | 28.3 |
Nunavut | 21.7 |
Ontario | 29.9 |
Prince Edward Island | 28.0 |
Quebec | 29.0 |
Saskatchewan | 27.3 |
Yukon | No data |
- Province with the oldest average age of first time moms: BC with an average age of 30.4 is the province with the oldest average age of first time moms
![Median income of single parents in Canada](https://parentintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Median-income-of-single-parents-in-Canada-1024x683.jpg)
Median Income of Single Parents In Canada
The median total income of single parent families in Canada with at least one child is $56,750 as of 2021.
Source: Statcan