The Reasons Behind Canada’s ‘Birth Rate Crisis,’ From Canadians Themselves

A couple push a stroller through fall leaves at Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, Thursday, October 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima

Lack of success in finding the right partner and rising costs are among the main reasons Canadians are waiting to have children or not having any at all, a new poll suggests.

Half of Canadians who would like to become parents say they have delayed it longer than they would like, according to an Oct. 10 poll by the Angus Reid Institute. Just over 40 percent said economic and job uncertainty is one of the main reasons for deciding to wait, while a similar proportion, exactly 40 percent, said they can’t find a suitable partner. Child care costs and the housing crisis come next as major factors for the delay, both cited by slightly more than 30 percent of respondents in the group.

Yet-to-be parents aged 35 to 44 were the most likely to say they have waited longer than they wanted to, nearly 75 percent of them.

“Canada’s fertility rate hit its lowest rate in recorded history for a second consecutive year in 2023,” wrote the study’s authors. “The spinoff impacts of this are already being felt – with Canada’s aging workforce joining a swelling retirement-age population and increasing economic pressure to meet this group’s needs and entitlements.”

Among those who do not want to have children (37 percent), child care and cost of living were also determining factors. A quarter said a top reason is that child care is too expensive, while 18 percent said it is too difficult to get proper housing to raise a child. Still, the most popular reason among participants who don’t want to have children was it isn’t something they’re interested in, at nearly 70 percent.

For the study, the authors surveyed 1,300 Canadian adults younger than 50.

Is There a Birth Rate Crisis?

In another poll that surveyed 4,063 Canadian adults, the institute found no consensus on whether Canada’s fertility rate is a crisis, with 43 percent of respondents saying it is, and 42 percent saying it is not.

The authors noted men are “much more likely” than women to consider it a crisis, and that those who say they are “definitely not going to have children” are twice as likely to disagree that Canada has a low birth crisis.

“The idea that Canada’s low birth rate is a crisis is not controversial among economists, many of whom have been signalling the productivity challenges it foretold for a number of years,” reads the report. “For Canadians themselves, however, the picture is less clear.”

Child Care Accessibility

The authors said concerns about access to child care among prospective parents “are seemingly well founded.” In another survey, the institute asked 307 parents with children aged zero to six about their experiences in finding child care, and learned that only half of them had a “satisfactory and pleasant” experience.

The others “had a poor experience including long waits and high costs,” with 30 percent of them eventually getting a space, 13 percent still trying, and 7 percent giving up. Long wait lists are by far the biggest issue for those with a negative child care experience, according to the study.

As for the cost of child care, the report notes about 33 percent of parents are paying $10 a day–the goal under federal and provincial programs. A quarter (25 percent) are paying approximately double that amount, and 10 percent of parents are paying about $40 a day.

The authors noted that beyond accessibility and costs, child care quality is highly rated. Nearly 60 percent of parents said the quality is “very good,” and 36 percent described it as “good.” Only 7 percent described it as “poor.”