Marriages

The number of couples who married in Canada in 2002 remained virtually unchanged from 2001, as did the nation's crude marriage rate.

A total of 146,738 couples tied the knot, up 0.1% from 146,618 in 2001.

The most recent peak in the number of marriages occurred at the beginning of the millennium in 2000 when 157,395 marriages took place. The number of marriages in 2002 was 6.8% lower than the peak two years earlier.

The crude marriage rate remained unchanged from its record low in 2001, at 4.7 marriages for every 1,000 population. This overall rate conceals the differences in marriage rates between the sexes at different ages.

In 2002, marriage rates rose for men aged 35 to 39 but decreased for all other age groups. The number of marriages increased among baby boomer men in their 40s and 50s. However, marriage rates for these men fell because the population of unmarried men in these age groups increased faster than did the number of marriages. In particular, it was the population of single (never-married) men in their 40s and 50s that increased the most from 2001 to 2002.

Baby boomer women showed similar decreased marriage rates, again because the increase in the number of marriages for women in their 40s and 50s was offset by the increase in the number of single (never-married) women in these age groups. In contrast, marriage rates rose for women aged 35 to 39, as well as for women aged 60 to 69.

In one-third of marriages in 2002, the bride, the groom or both were born outside Canada. This proportion has increased dramatically from 25% since the early 1990s.

There were 45,619 such marriages in 2002, compared with 35,502 in 1992. According to census data, the proportion of the Canadian population born outside Canada rose from 16% in 1991 to 18% in 2001, the highest level in 70 years.

About three-fifths of all marriages in 2002 happened during the summer months. Over 29,000 couples got married in August 2002, representing 20% of all marriages that year. About 14% of marriages occurred in July, 13% in June and 12% in September.

In 2002, 71% of marriages occurred on a Saturday, with Friday and Sunday far behind.

Same-sex marriages were first registered in Canada in 2003. Marriage data for 2002 include marriages of persons of the opposite sex only.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3232.

The publication Marriages, 2002 (84F0212XWE, free) is now available online. From the Our products and services page under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free then Population and demography.

For general information or to order custom tabulations, contact Client Services (613-951-1746). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Brent Day (613-951-4280; brentday@statcan.gc.ca) or Patricia Tully (613-951-1759; patriciatully@statcan.gc.ca), Health Statistics Division.