Divorces

Repeat divorces, those involving people who had been divorced at least once before, are accounting for an increasing proportion of divorces in Canada, according to new data.

In 1973, only 5.4% of divorces involved husbands who had previously been divorced. Some 30 years later, this proportion has tripled to 16.2% of all divorces.

Similarly, the proportion of divorces involving wives who had previously been divorced rose from 5.4% to 15.7% during this three-decade period.

The number of couples getting a divorce in 2003 edged up 1.0% from a year earlier to 70,828.

This slight increase was due primarily to a 5.1% jump in divorces in Ontario, and a 1.4% increase in Quebec. Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan were the only other provinces to experience an advance. The number of divorces fell 21.4% in Newfoundland and Labrador, by far the largest decline. No information on the reason for this decrease is available.

The number of divorces has remained relatively stable over the last few years. The year-to-year change has been below 2% since 1999.

The slight rise in divorces in 2003 kept pace with the increase in the Canadian population. As a result, the crude divorce rate for 2003 remained stable at 223.7 divorces for every 100,000 people in the population.

Marriage stability can be assessed using divorce rates based on years of marriage. The proportion of marriages expected to end in divorce by the 30th wedding anniversary inched up to 38.3% in 2003, from 37.6% in 2002.

The divorce rate varies greatly depending on how long couples have been married. It rises rapidly in the first few years of marriage.

The peak divorce rate in 2003 occurred after three years of marriage, when 26.2 out of 1,000 marriages ended in divorce. The risk of divorce decreased slowly for each additional year of marriage.

The custody of dependents, the vast majority of whom are children aged 18 and under, was granted through divorce court proceedings in 27% of 2003 divorces.

Available on CANSIM: table 053-0002.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3235.

The shelf tables Divorces, 2003 (84F0213XPB, $22) are now available.

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