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!
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 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 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% |
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
- 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 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
- 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
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 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 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
The median total income of single parent families in Canada with at least one child is $56,750 as of 2021.
Source: Statcan
