More couples than ever before are forgoing the wedding and opting to live common-law, according to census data released by Statistics Canada.
The series of reports on Wednesday covered the composition of Canadian families, military life, and income. Census data highlights social and economic trends and helps governments form policies.
A report on the couples showed a 447 per cent increase in common-law unions between 1981 and 2021. It said that 40 years ago, only 6.4 per cent of couples living together were not married. In 2021, the percentage was 22.7 per cent, and more lived in rural areas than large urban centres.
© Can Stock Photo / WitthayaP
Ontario had the lowest percentage of common-law unions at 15.7 per cent. By contrast, it is the norm in Nunavut, where 52 per cent of couples were common-law. Canada also had the highest share of common-law pairings in the G7.
However, wedding planners don’t need to worry. Tying the knot is still the most prevalent type of coupledom. The census last year showed 77 per cent of Canadian couples were married, compared to 23 per cent of common-law.
Statistics Canada asked couples for the first time in 2021 about gender diversity. About 98.5 per cent of all unions consist of one man and one woman who identified as cis-gendered. Of the remaining 1.5 per cent, 1.1 per cent of couples were same-sex partners, while 0.4 per cent were either trans or non-binary unions.
Whether they got hitched or not, the percentage aged 15 years or older remained stable between 1981 and 2021 at 57 per cent. As life expectancy improves for men, more elderly couples are ageing together. In the early 1980s, just 41 per cent of Canadians over the age of 65 were living as a couple, compared to 58 per cent last year.
Fewer couples have children now than they did 40 years ago. The report said 64 per cent of them had children in 1981, compared to half now.
The data also reveals that 29 per cent of couples count themselves as together and living apart, meaning they make decisions jointly while living in different locations.
© Can Stock Photo / Bialasiewicz
Census data also broke down the make-up of Canadian households, with more than ever living solo. In 1981, just 1.7-million Canadians lived alone. Last year, 4.4-million did, one of the lowest rates in the G7. In Finland, Norway, and Germany, four in ten households consisted of just one person, compared to three in ten in Canada. Only the U.S. had a lower share with 28.5 per cent, compared to 29.3 per cent in Canada.
Another trend on the rise was living with roommates. Statistics Canada said those households are growing at the fastest rate of all living arrangements, up 54 per cent over the past two decades. However, those households still only make up four per cent of the total.
More adults aged 20 to 34 lived with at least one parent than in 2001, although the rate was relatively stable at 35 per cent. It was more prevalent in larger Ontario cities. The report pinpointed Oshawa, where 49 per cent of adults in that age group lived with either their mother or father.
Six in ten households consisted of one census family, but multi-general family arrangements increased by 45 per cent since 2001 to seven per cent.
Most children still live with both of their biological or adoptive families, seven in ten. Another 19 per cent live with one parent, while nine per cent stay with a stepfamily, and two per cent with either their grandparents, another relative, or a foster family.
A separate report released by Statistics Canada revealed how Canadian incomes trended higher in 2020 in most provinces and territories. The median after-tax household income was $73,000 in 2020, up 9.8 per cent five years earlier.
COVID-19 benefits during the pandemic made up for much of the loss of income due to layoffs. Two-thirds of Canadian adults received some assistance.
The poverty rate also fell from 10.3 per cent in 2019 to 6.4 per cent a year later because increased in government transfers.
Meanwhile, the low-income measure dropped to 9.3 per cent in 2020, the lowest rate since 1976.
