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Tuesday, October 22, 2002

2001 Census: Marital status, common-law status, families, dwellings and households

A family portrait taken by the census at the outset of the 21st century shows that changes in the makeup of Canadian families during the past two decades are continuing. The proportion of "traditional" families - mom, dad and the kids - continues to decline, whereas families with no children at home are increasing.

As of May 15, 2001, Canada had 8,371,000 families, up from almost 7,838,000 in 1996.

Married or common-law couples with children aged 24 and under living at home represented only 44% of all families. These accounted for 49% of all families in 1991, and represented more than one-half in 1981 (55%).

Couples who had no children under 25 living at home accounted for 41% of all families in 2001, up from 38% in 1991. In 1981, this family type accounted for barely 34%.

The 2001 Census showed that an increasing proportion of couples are living common-law. Married couples accounted for 70% of all families in 2001, down from 83% in 1981. At the same time, the proportion of common-law couples rose from 6% to 14%.

In 2001, the census counted 5,901,400 married couples, 1,158,400 common-law couples and 1,311,200  lone-parent families.

The trend toward common-law was again strongest in Quebec, where the 508,500 common-law families accounted for 30% of all couple families. Almost 29% of children were living with common-law parents in Quebec, more than double the national average.

The number of common-law couples in Canada with children under the age of 25 is also increasing. In 2001, they accounted for 7% of all couples in Canada, compared with only 2% two decades earlier.

About 732,900 children, or 13% of the total, lived with common-law parents in 2001, more than four times the proportion of 3% two decades ago. Younger children were more likely to live with common-law parents.

Same-sex common-law couples: Male couples outnumber female couples

The 2001 Census is the first to provide data on same-sex partnerships. A total of 34,200 couples identified themselves as same-sex common-law couples, accounting for 0.5% of all couples in the country.

There were more male same-sex common-law couples than female. The census counted about 19,000 male same-sex couples, 55% of the total.

Female same-sex couples were five times as likely to have children living with them as their male counterparts. About 15% of the 15,200 female same-sex couples were living with children, compared with only 3% of male same-sex couples.

Households: Size declining, and living alone on the rise

The census counted almost 11,563,000 households in Canada in 2001, up 6.9% from 1996. The increase of smaller households was the biggest contributor to the growth of private households.

The size of households has dropped in the last two decades, as fewer people live in large households and more people live alone. In 2001, there were about as many one-person households as there were households with four or more people. Between 1981 and 2001, average household size declined from 2.9 to 2.6 people.

Households consisting of four or more people accounted for only one-quarter of all households in 2001; two decades earlier, they accounted for one-third.

Detailed analysis of these new census data is presented in an online report, titled Profile of families and households: Diversification continues, available on Statistics Canada's Web site (). This HTML document is illustrated by numerous tables and charts.

The report also links to various products and services available from the Census module, which has been designed to provide easy access to census data using new electronic tools. Information in the module is organized into four broad categories: analysis, data, maps and reference material.

In addition, in the Community profiles module, families and dwellings data are available for Canada and the provinces and territories, as well as for 27 metropolitan areas and nearly 6,000 cities, towns, villages and Indian reserves.

This is the third in a series of data releases from the census, which was conducted on May 15, 2001. The next release, scheduled for December 10, will provide information on language, mobility and migration.

Successive announcements through to May 2003 will release data on the population's education, ethnic origin, labour market activity, income, religion and many other social and economic characteristics.

For more information, contact Media Relations (613-951-4636), Communications Division.



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Date Modified: 2002-10-22 Important Notices