Are fewer Canadians having children?
There were more babies than 20-something-year-olds in 1915, according to Statistics Canada, where they made up 2.6 per cent of the population. While the number of Canadians under the age of one wavered in the years that followed, the country saw the same numbers during the peak of the baby boomer years, before again tapering off in the 1970s.
In recent years, it apperars the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the number of births in Canada. There were a total of 374,617 reported in 2018, and that number dwindled in 2022, dropping to a total of 351,679 births. Statistics Canada estimates newborns will make up about one per cent of Canada’s population and projects it will hover around that number for nearly the next twenty years.
According to a September Statistics Canada report, those between 20 and 29 years old have cited affordability concerns as a contributing factor to holding off on family planning.
General costs of living, like unaffordable housing and pricier groceries, coupled with a jump in Canada’s unemployment rate, could also be contributing factors, especially as StatCan noted the country’s youth are spending more on housing than all previous generations.
“The affordability concerns facing youth are influencing the choices young adults are making, such as where to live, and whether to have children, in ways that are expected to influence Canada’s long-term demographic and geographic composition,” the report reads.
Data released in March by the Canadian Institute for Health Information revealed economic stressors are taking a toll on Canadians’ mental health, too, with 29 per cent aged 18 and older suffering from depression, anxiety or another mental health issue last year. In 2016, 20 per cent reported living with mental illness.
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With files from CTVNews.ca and The Canadian Press