FIRST READING: Canada’s birth rate has dropped off a cliff (and it’s likely because nobody can afford housing)
nationalpost.com
More than a third of young people say they are foregoing children because they can't afford a proper home for them

Statistics Canada confirmed last week that 351,679 babies were born in 2022 — the lowest number of live births since 345,044 births were recorded in 2005.

The disparity is all the more notable given that Canada had just 32 million people in 2005, as compared to the 40 million it counted by the end of 2022. In 2005, it was already at historic lows for Canada to have a fertility rate of 1.57 births per woman. But given the 2022 figures, that fertility rate has now sunk to 1.33.

…

Of Canadians in their 20s, Statistics Canada found that 38 per cent of them “did not believe they could afford to have a child in the next three years” — with about that same number (32 per cent) saying they doubted they’d be able to find “suitable housing” in which to care for a baby.

…

A January survey by the Angus Reid Group asked women to list the ideal size of their family against its actual size, and concluded that the average Canadian woman reached the end of their childbearing years with 0.5 fewer children than they would have wanted

“In Canada, unlike many other countries, fertility rates and desires rise with income: richer Canadians have more children,” it read.

  • justhach
    15•1 year ago

    So, yeah, it’s not the cost of having kids that turns people off from having them. The study that the article is based on even says this!

    …Are you high? The article literally states that a third of young canadians are doing just that.

    In a survey published last month, the agency found that more than a third of young Canadians were setting aside plans for a family due purely to financial reasons. Of Canadians in their 20s, Statistics Canada found that 38 per cent of them “did not believe they could afford to have a child in the next three years”

    • @[email protected]
      -10•1 year ago

      The article is misleading.

      Firstly, the stats can census really only talks about affordability, while the survey linked in the article talks about actual “factors influencing family plans”, and quite literally states that:

      “The view that parenting is demanding is a bigger factor for low fertility than is housing or childcare costs.”

      The article is referring to low fertility rates, skips the survey data they linked to, and then jumps to the conclusion that it’s all about costs! That’s dishonest journalism.

      • PupBiru
        5•1 year ago

        i’m just gonna quote a couple of sections from the conclusion of the survey here that actual statisticians wrote after analysing their own data:

        When having children is viewed as hampering the pursuit of one’s career, self-development, or financial goals, as a capstone to be achieved once these other goals have been reached, women’s wishes for children, or for the number of children they consider ideal, may be deferred to the point of permanence.

        … only women with considerable financial resources at their disposal feel confident about pursuing larger families. As a result, and perhaps uniquely among industrialized societies, Canadian fertility outcomes and intentions are highest among the wealthiest women.

        research should also focus on more tractable issues such as housing costs or family policy, including child care