Canada's Shrinking Families

Why families are getting smaller and what to do about it

September 1, 2010 | by Peter Jon Mitchell , Senior Researcher, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada
PDF:  Canada's Shrinking Families

Endnotes

  1. Statistics Canada. (2009, September 22). Births. The Daily. Ottawa: Minister of Industry. Retrieved September 13, 2010 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/090922/dq090922b-eng.htm
  2. Statistics Canada. (2008, July). Report on the demographic situation in Canada 2005 and 2006. Ottawa: Minister of Industry. pp. 28-29. Retrieved May 18, 2010 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-209-x/91-209-x2004000-eng.pdf
  3. The total fertility rate is calculated yearly from a compilation of fertility data categorized by age group.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Average family size includes adults and children. For further information on this calculation see: Population and family estimation methods at Statistics Canada. (2007, December). Ottawa: Minister of Industry. Available at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-528-x/91-528-x2007001-eng.pdf
  6. Lino, M. (2010). Expenditures on children by families, 2009. Alexandria: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Retrieved June 24, 2010 from http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/CRC/crc2009.pdf
  7. Manitoba Agriculture. (2004). Family finance: Cost of raising a child.
  8. What’s at the heart of the Canadian family? (2007, September). Ottawa: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2010 from http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/Heart of Canadian Family EN.pdf
  9. Cherlin, A. J. (2010, June). Demographic trends in the United States: A review of research in the 2000s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72 (3), p. 404.
  10. Weston, R. (2004). Having children or not. Family Matters, 69, p. 7. Retrieved September 15, 2010 from http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2004/fm69/rw.pdf
  11. Marshall, K. (2008, June). Fathers’ use of paid parental leave. Perspectives. Statistics Canada. p. 8. Retrieved July 7, 2008 from http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/75-001-XIE/2008106/pdf/10639-en.pdf
  12. Cherlin, p. 406.
  13. Dowbiggin, I. (2006). Where have all the babies gone? The “birth dearth” and what to do about it. Canadian Family Views. Ottawa: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. p. 4. Retrieved February 16, 2010 from http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/Dr_Ian_Dowbiggin_Birth_Dearth_FINAL.pdf
  14. Dupis, D. (1998). What influences people’s plans to have children? Canadian Social Trends, 48, p. 3. Statistics Canada Catalogue, Num.11-008.
  15. For further details and provincial breakdowns, see http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/health40a-eng.htm
  16. Dowbiggin, p. 4.
  17. Crompton, S. and Keown, L. (2009). Do parental benefits influence fertility decisions? Canadian Social Trends, 88, p. 45. Statistics Canada Catalogue, Num. 11-008. Retrieved May 20, 2010 from http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2009/statcan/11-008-X/11-008-X2009002-eng.pdf
  18. Goldstein, J., Lutz, W. and Testa, M.R. (2003). The emergence of sub-replacement family size ideals in Europe. Population Research and Policy Review, 22, p. 491.
  19. Bélanger, A. and Oullet, G. (2006). A comparative study of recent trends in Canadian and American fertility, 1980-1999, in Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada 2001, ed. A. Bélanger. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Minster of Industry. pp. 107,119. Retrieved May 27, 2010 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-209-x/91-209-x2001000-eng.pdf
  20. Wilson, R.P. (2002). Canadian Attitudes on the Family. Vancouver: Focus on the Family Canada. p. 18. Retrieved September 15, 2010 from http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/Canadian%20Attitudes%20on%20the%20Family.pdf
  21. Bélanger and Oullet, p. 119.
  22. Bélanger and Oullet, p. 120.
  23. Bélanger and Oullet, p. 107.
  24. Goldstein et al, p. 479.
  25. Goldstein et al, p. 498.
  26. Bélanger, A. and Oikawa, C. (1999). Who has a third child? Canadian Social Trends, 53, p.23. Statistics Canada, Catalogue Num. 11-008. Retrieved May 27, 2010 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/1999001/article/4578-eng.pdf
  27. Bélanger and Oikawa, pp. 23-24.
  28. Bélanger and Oikawa, p. 24.
  29. Ibid.
  30. Dupis, pp. 4-5.
  31. Ibid.
  32. Dowbiggin, p. 2.
  33. Statistics Canada (2010). Population and demography. Canada Year Book 2009. Ottawa: Minster of Industry. Retrieved September 15, 2010 from http://www41.statcan.gc.ca/2009/3867/cybac3867_000-eng.htm
  34. Andrews, K. (2009). Family policies that work. Remarks to the World Congress of Families V, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12 August 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2010 from http://www.worldcongress.org/wcf5.spkrs/wcf5.andrews.htm#_ednref41
  35. Halpin, T. (2007, September 13). Make love for the Motherland and win a refrigerator. The Times. Retrieved September 13, 2010 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article2438594.ece
  36. Andrews, Family policies that work, World Congress of Families V.
  37. Ibid.
  38. Malanga, S. (2010). Our vanishing ultimate resource. City Journal, 20 (1), Retrieved September 15, 2010 from http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_1_birthrates.html
  39. Ibid.
  40. Mrozek, A. (2007). Europe’s family tomes. IMFC Review, Ottawa: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. Retrieved September 13, 2010 from http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/IMFC_Spring07.pdf
  41. Milligan, K. (2002, January 24). Quebec’s baby bonus: Can public policy raise fertility? Backgrounder. p.34. Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute. p. 2. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/Milligan_Backgrounder.pdf
  42. Milligan, p. 1.
  43. Crompton and Keown, p. 49.
  44. Crompton and Keown, p. 45.
  45. Bélanger and Oullet, p. 130.
  46. Bélanger and Oullet, pp. 131-32.
  47. Malanga.
  48. Ibid.
  49. Weston, p. 5.
  50. Alexander, C. And Marple, J. (2010). Dollars and sense: The urgent need for lifelong financial literacy. Toronto: TD Bank Financial Group. Retrieved September 14, 2010 from http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca0610_literacy.pdf
  51. Miedema, D. (2009). Care-full? The demographic crunch and senior care in Canada. Ottawa: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. p. 5. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/IMFC%20Derek%20Miedema_FINAL.pdf
  52. Sauvé, R. (2010). The current state of Canadian family finances 2009 report. Ottawa: The Vanier Institute of the Family. p. 10. Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.vifamily.ca/library/cft/famfin09.pdf
  53. The Institute for American Values launched the New Thrift initiative through the John Templeton Center for Thrift and Generosity. More information is available at http://newthrift.org
  54. Walberg, R. and Mrozek, A. (2009). Private choices, public costs: How failing families cost us all. Ottawa: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. p. 5. Retrieved September 15, 2010, from http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/Cost%20of%20Family%20Breakdown%20final.pdf
  55. Amato, P. (2004, November). Tension between institutional and individual views of marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66 (4), p. 964.
  56. Ibid.
  57. Andrews, Family policies that work, World Congress of Families V.
  58. Ibid.