Canada’s Birth Rate Declines Following Brief Pandemic Baby Boom: StatCan

Statistics Canada sign outside the agency's building in Ottawa on July 3, 2019. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The number of births in Canada has started to decline again after a short-lived increase during the COVID pandemic, according to Statistics Canada.

The agency says the total number of births has been declining since 2016, with the exception of Nova Scotia, which saw a 12.8 percent increase in 2022.

While the total number of births across Canada in 2022 was 351,679, Nova Scotia mothers delivered 7,944 babies, according to Statistics Canada. That’s up from 7,045 in 2021, but down from the 8,037 births in that province in 2018.

In Ontario, there were 136,752 births in 2022, which was down from 142,647 in 2018. Quebec’s birth rate dropped to 79,164 in 2022 from 82,419 in 2018. Alberta saw 47,524 babies born in 2022 compared to 52,342 in 2018. British Columbia had 41,899 babies arrive in 2022, down from 43,736 in 2018.

Nunavut saw the largest decline in 2022 at 11.8 percent.

Prior to the pandemic, birth rates dropped 2.8 percent between 2016 and 2019. From 2019 to 2020, there was a further 3.3 percent decline in births.

However, from 2020 to 2021 the birth rate rebounded by 2.6 percent. That increase was followed by a five percent decline between 2021 and 2022, the Statistics Canada report said.

Statistics Canada noted there were slightly more boys (51.4 percent) than girls (48.6 percent) born in 2022.

Canada’s birth rate fluctuated more than that of the United States, which saw little change between 2021 and 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

There were 3,667,758 births registered across the United States in 2022, the CDC said.

Low Birth Weights on the Rise

Statistics Canada says there has also been an increase in low birth weight among infants.

Seven percent of babies born in 2022 were considered underweight for their gestational age, the report said. In 2021, 6.6 percent of babies born had low birth weights.

Babies born to mothers who were younger were more likely to be underweight, according to the statistics.

“In 2022, 8.8 percent of babies born to women aged 19 years and younger had low birth weight compared with 6.7 percent of babies born to women aged 20 to 34 years,” the report said. “In comparison, 7.8 percent of babies born to women aged 35 to 49 years had low birth weight.”

Low birth weight has been on the rise for the last 20 years, according to Statistics Canada.

In 2002, 5.7 percent of babies born were considered underweight.

Premature babies, those born before 36 weeks of gestation, comprise the largest number of infants born with low birth weights at 55.7 percent.

Statistics Canada said babies born in 2022 who were considered overweight represented 1.2 percent of all births, down from 2.3 percent in 2002.