--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/decline-and-fall-trends-in-family-formations-and-fertility-in-canada-since-2001/" title: "Decline and Fall: Trends in Family Formations and Fertility in Canada since 2001" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-01T11:29:27+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-01T11:29:27+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "child care" - "demographics" - "family formation" - "fertility" - "housing" - "income" - "marriage" - "well-being" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Economic Well-Being" - "Labour Markets" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Decline and Fall: Trends in Family Formations and Fertility in Canada since 2001 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/decline-and-fall-trends-in-family-formations-and-fertility-in-canada-since-2001/ # Decline and Fall: Trends in Family Formations and Fertility in Canada since 2001 [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-04-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Sargent, Tim. 2024. “Decline and Fall: Trends in Family Formations and Fertility in Canada since 2001.” CSLS Research Report 2024-04. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/decline-and-fall-trends-in-family-formations-and-fertility-in-canada-since-2001/ ## Author: - Tim Sargent Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS); Macdonald-Laurier Institute ## Report 2024-04 May 2024 56 pages ## Related research [Closing the First Nations Education Gap in Canada: Assessing Progress and Estimating the Economic Benefits — An Update Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2023 | Report 2023-01 | 101 pages](https://csls.ca/research/closing-the-first-nations-education-gap-in-canada-assessing-progress-and-estimating-the-economic-benefits-an-update-2023-01/) [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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The report finds that being part of a family provides significant benefits in terms of income and broader well-being. Yet despite these benefits, Canadians are now significantly less likely to form families, and when they do, fewer are choosing to have children. Canada’s fertility rate was only 1.3 in 2022, down from 1.6 in 2016. Policy recommendations include making housing more affordable, using the tax system to incentivize family growth, subsidizing daycare, and reducing credentialism. Cet article examine trois questions : les gens tirent-ils des avantages significatifs du fait de faire partie d’une famille; quelles sont les tendances de la formation des familles au Canada au cours des deux dernières décennies; et quels facteurs expliquent ces tendances? Le rapport révèle que le fait de faire partie d’une famille procure des avantages importants sur le plan du revenu et du bien-être au sens large. Pourtant, malgré ces avantages, les Canadiens sont aujourd’hui beaucoup moins susceptibles de former une famille et, lorsqu’ils le font, ils sont moins nombreux à choisir d’avoir des enfants. Le taux de fécondité du Canada n’était que de 1,3 en 2022, comparativement à 1,6 en 2016. Les recommandations politiques incluent de rendre le logement plus abordable, d’utiliser le régime fiscal pour encourager la croissance des familles, de subventionner les services de garde et de réduire le crédentialisme. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-04-1.pdf)