Canada recorded its lowest ever fertility rate for the second year in a row in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
The country recorded a rate of 1.26 children born per woman, according to the agency, with British Columbia having the nation’s lowest fertility rate at one child per woman.
“Canada has now joined the group of ‘lowest-low’ fertility countries, including South Korea, Spain, Italy and Japan, with 1.3 children per woman or less,” the agency said in a [Wednesday statement](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240925/dq240925c-eng.htm). “In comparison, the total fertility rate for the United States was 1.62 per woman in 2023.”
CurrentSpeech on
We priced out having kids and now we have to import them to keep the economy going so that we can price out more kids.Â
KermitsBusiness on
Well its hard to bang for babies when the government keeps banging you first ya know.
e7603rs2wrg8cglkvaw4 on
Said it before and I’ll say it again: secular neoliberalism is doomed to commit demographic suicide
scott_c86 on
We should probably continue to allow the cost of housing to far outpace incomes (/s)
ProudSituation1255 on
It’s okay, the refugees and immigrants Trudeau brought in will pump out babies for Canadians instead
VinylGuy97 on
When Trudeau and the Liberals took office in 2015, the fertility rate was 1.6. Now in 2024, it is 1.26, which is a 21.25% drop
Windatar on
Because its too fucking expensive. Where are we suppose to raise kids? We have finite resources and they’re being taken up by the 3 million non Canadians here.
Wonderful-Pipe-5413 on
Children of Men
shabi_sensei on
Funny how these articles never talk to women and ask them why they aren’t having babies, instead of letting men speculate on different reasons why in the comments
Bimmgus on
Why have babies when we can import middle aged Indian men?
ghost_n_the_shell on
Imagine. People can’t afford homes and sometimes food.
This isn’t the 1800’s where having more kids meant more hands on the farm.
Hotdog_Broth on
Even if I could find a way to afford a kid, why would I want to force another human being into this mess? There’s absolutely no incentive to have kids until life here feels like something more than just surviving
vocabulazy on
When we first got married, 11 years ago, we wanted 4 kids. We lived in a LCOL area, and had a house big enough for a big family. My husband had a great job (financially), and I had an okay job with room to grow. We would have been pretty happy to stay there, and have the big family. Like got in the way.
A few things happened to completely eff our whole plan:
– infertility. After 5 years of TTC, and as many things as we could get short of IVF, we’d find out that we couldn’t have kids at all without IVF. All of this was a clusterf###, because my town only had one (very dismissive), old man gynaecologist, and my province only had one fertility clinic.
– my husband’s boss was incompetent and created an extremely toxic work environment, but because boss was a lapdog for the higher ups and did whatever they wanted, they would never discipline or get rid of her. He managed to stay 8 years, and tried to make things better as best he could, but with a toxic boss and no support from administration, it wasn’t enough. He eventually started looking for a new job (ANY new job remotely in his field).
– my husband ended up finding a comparable job, but it was in another province, in a HCOL area, and my job prospects weren’t so good. We live in a much smaller house, we rent because we can’t afford to buy, everything is much more expensive, and we know it’ll be a struggle to give our children a comparable childhood to the ones we had. We also have no family who would be willing to help us with childcare anywhere nearby.
– paying for IVF was a b####. So far, we’ve spent 9 years and close to $20K having two kids.
Now that the kids are here, there are other problems, such as lack of affordable childcare, which make it hard for me to work full-time. Finances and lack of social supports have basically made our decision for us that we can’t have the family we wanted, even if we could afford to pay for more fertility treatments. It’s too damn hard to have kids, when both parents have to work full time to be able to afford to house, feed, and clothe these kids, not to mention childcare.
DarkMaxima on
Well, how about make things affordable again so that being a parent isn’t so hard. Today’s generation is choosing to forego having children because being able to feed and shelter oneself is more a priority.
Fast_Concept4745 on
Let’s stop pretending that the fertility rate isn’t directly tied to the health of the economy
thekingestkong on
Why have babies when we can just bring in whole ass grown up adults that don’t need educating, pediatricians or having parents on parental leave not paying taxes, makes no sense.
accforme on
Let’s not forget that there is an aging population that will lead to a mass, and sudden, exodus in the labour market coupled by increasing costs for seniors. The last Budget projects that by 2028-29, at the current rate, elderly benefits, like OAS, will rise to $99.9b. This will be in addition to other costs associated with aging.
So the question to you keyboard economists and policy makers, is how does Canada support an agining society when fertility rate is low and anti-immigration sentiment is high?
Safe-Significance-28 on
The problem that I see is too long working hours. More time on your hands=more babies
Sparkythedog77 on
I made the decision to remain a childfree woman for a few reasons. I have a disability that would prevent me from properly caring for a child. I don’t make a lot of money because I’m limited on how much I can work. I would never choose any of my exes to be a father. I never wanted to end up as a single parent. I value sleep and having an income that I can live with. I value freedom to do what I want, when I want, how I want. I’m also a huge introvert and even though I do like kids, I find being around them can be exhausting.Â
amb92 on
This is Reddit so I’ll be lectured about how everyone should have their kids at 20 BUT… The provincial governments could expand funding for ivf across the country (I am aware this is province specific).
For those without children, expand access to three ivf cycles. Right now you can only get 1 IVF cycle in Ontario. If you aren’t successful, you have to pay out of pocket ($$$) or remain childless or hope you have a spontaneous conception.
Ultimately, I think people aren’t having kids partly because of the housing issue but mostly because they believe there is more to life than having a child. You can have a very fulfilling life without children. Older generations often believe that the only correct path in life is to get married and have 3 kids.
MusclyArmPaperboy on
Educated populations have lower birth rates.
People with a bachelors degree are less likely to have children than people with a high school education, those with a masters are less likely to have children than someone with a bachelors degree.
onGuardBro on
All right folks, time to pump up those numbers 🫡 let’s get to work
Canadians historic tenacity paired with more funding for children, we can be succesful
MacGrubersaSensfan on
Can’t afford to have kids until I meet someone. Dating is hard because the only hope I have of saving a down payment is by having roommates. Hard to convince a woman in her mid to late 30s to go out with someone who has roommates.
Saving the extra few hundred a month towards a down payment is more important to me than dating and children. I’m 38 so unless the economy makes a quick and drastic change, I’m never having kids (Nevermind the whole meeting someone part).
champythebuttbutt on
Call it birth rate. It has nothing to do with fertility.
26 Comments
Canada recorded its lowest ever fertility rate for the second year in a row in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
The country recorded a rate of 1.26 children born per woman, according to the agency, with British Columbia having the nation’s lowest fertility rate at one child per woman.
“Canada has now joined the group of ‘lowest-low’ fertility countries, including South Korea, Spain, Italy and Japan, with 1.3 children per woman or less,” the agency said in a [Wednesday statement](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240925/dq240925c-eng.htm). “In comparison, the total fertility rate for the United States was 1.62 per woman in 2023.”
We priced out having kids and now we have to import them to keep the economy going so that we can price out more kids.Â
Well its hard to bang for babies when the government keeps banging you first ya know.
Said it before and I’ll say it again: secular neoliberalism is doomed to commit demographic suicide
We should probably continue to allow the cost of housing to far outpace incomes (/s)
It’s okay, the refugees and immigrants Trudeau brought in will pump out babies for Canadians instead
When Trudeau and the Liberals took office in 2015, the fertility rate was 1.6. Now in 2024, it is 1.26, which is a 21.25% drop
Because its too fucking expensive. Where are we suppose to raise kids? We have finite resources and they’re being taken up by the 3 million non Canadians here.
Children of Men
Funny how these articles never talk to women and ask them why they aren’t having babies, instead of letting men speculate on different reasons why in the comments
Why have babies when we can import middle aged Indian men?
Imagine. People can’t afford homes and sometimes food.
This isn’t the 1800’s where having more kids meant more hands on the farm.
Even if I could find a way to afford a kid, why would I want to force another human being into this mess? There’s absolutely no incentive to have kids until life here feels like something more than just surviving
When we first got married, 11 years ago, we wanted 4 kids. We lived in a LCOL area, and had a house big enough for a big family. My husband had a great job (financially), and I had an okay job with room to grow. We would have been pretty happy to stay there, and have the big family. Like got in the way.
A few things happened to completely eff our whole plan:
– infertility. After 5 years of TTC, and as many things as we could get short of IVF, we’d find out that we couldn’t have kids at all without IVF. All of this was a clusterf###, because my town only had one (very dismissive), old man gynaecologist, and my province only had one fertility clinic.
– my husband’s boss was incompetent and created an extremely toxic work environment, but because boss was a lapdog for the higher ups and did whatever they wanted, they would never discipline or get rid of her. He managed to stay 8 years, and tried to make things better as best he could, but with a toxic boss and no support from administration, it wasn’t enough. He eventually started looking for a new job (ANY new job remotely in his field).
– my husband ended up finding a comparable job, but it was in another province, in a HCOL area, and my job prospects weren’t so good. We live in a much smaller house, we rent because we can’t afford to buy, everything is much more expensive, and we know it’ll be a struggle to give our children a comparable childhood to the ones we had. We also have no family who would be willing to help us with childcare anywhere nearby.
– paying for IVF was a b####. So far, we’ve spent 9 years and close to $20K having two kids.
Now that the kids are here, there are other problems, such as lack of affordable childcare, which make it hard for me to work full-time. Finances and lack of social supports have basically made our decision for us that we can’t have the family we wanted, even if we could afford to pay for more fertility treatments. It’s too damn hard to have kids, when both parents have to work full time to be able to afford to house, feed, and clothe these kids, not to mention childcare.
Well, how about make things affordable again so that being a parent isn’t so hard. Today’s generation is choosing to forego having children because being able to feed and shelter oneself is more a priority.
Let’s stop pretending that the fertility rate isn’t directly tied to the health of the economy
Why have babies when we can just bring in whole ass grown up adults that don’t need educating, pediatricians or having parents on parental leave not paying taxes, makes no sense.
Let’s not forget that there is an aging population that will lead to a mass, and sudden, exodus in the labour market coupled by increasing costs for seniors. The last Budget projects that by 2028-29, at the current rate, elderly benefits, like OAS, will rise to $99.9b. This will be in addition to other costs associated with aging.
So the question to you keyboard economists and policy makers, is how does Canada support an agining society when fertility rate is low and anti-immigration sentiment is high?
The problem that I see is too long working hours. More time on your hands=more babies
I made the decision to remain a childfree woman for a few reasons. I have a disability that would prevent me from properly caring for a child. I don’t make a lot of money because I’m limited on how much I can work. I would never choose any of my exes to be a father. I never wanted to end up as a single parent. I value sleep and having an income that I can live with. I value freedom to do what I want, when I want, how I want. I’m also a huge introvert and even though I do like kids, I find being around them can be exhausting.Â
This is Reddit so I’ll be lectured about how everyone should have their kids at 20 BUT… The provincial governments could expand funding for ivf across the country (I am aware this is province specific).
For those without children, expand access to three ivf cycles. Right now you can only get 1 IVF cycle in Ontario. If you aren’t successful, you have to pay out of pocket ($$$) or remain childless or hope you have a spontaneous conception.
Ultimately, I think people aren’t having kids partly because of the housing issue but mostly because they believe there is more to life than having a child. You can have a very fulfilling life without children. Older generations often believe that the only correct path in life is to get married and have 3 kids.
Educated populations have lower birth rates.
People with a bachelors degree are less likely to have children than people with a high school education, those with a masters are less likely to have children than someone with a bachelors degree.
All right folks, time to pump up those numbers 🫡 let’s get to work
Canadians historic tenacity paired with more funding for children, we can be succesful
Can’t afford to have kids until I meet someone. Dating is hard because the only hope I have of saving a down payment is by having roommates. Hard to convince a woman in her mid to late 30s to go out with someone who has roommates.
Saving the extra few hundred a month towards a down payment is more important to me than dating and children. I’m 38 so unless the economy makes a quick and drastic change, I’m never having kids (Nevermind the whole meeting someone part).
Call it birth rate. It has nothing to do with fertility.
The boomers chose this