Mother's Day... by the numbers

2017

Sunday, May 14 is Mother's Day.

To mark this special occasion, we have compiled some facts related to mothers in Canada.

(Last updated: May 8, 2017))

Mothers in Canada

  • 9.8 million — the total number of mothers in Canada (including biological, adoptive and stepmothers) in 2011.
Number of mothers in Canada (including biological, adoptive and stepmothers), by province, 2011
  Number (thousands) Percent
Canada 9,821 100.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 164 1.7
Prince Edward Island 43 0.4
Nova Scotia 293 3.0
New Brunswick 226 2.3
Quebec 2,279 23.2
Ontario 3,783 38.5
Manitoba 349 3.6
Saskatchewan 305 3.1
Alberta 1,059 10.8
British Columbia 1,320 13.4
  • 4.1 million — the number of mothers in Canada with children under 18 living with them (including biological, adoptive and stepmothers) in 2011.

Source: General Social Survey - Family, 2011 (Cycle 25).

Places just for mom

  • Motherwell, Ontario
  • Grandmother's Bay 219, Saskatchewan
  • Rosemère, Québec
  • L'Anse-des-Mères, Québec
  • Grand-Mère, Québec
  • Notre-Dame-des-Mères, Québec
  • Mammamattawa, Ontario
  • Mumford, Ontario

Source: 2016 Census Profile

Stay-at-home mothers

  • 444,700 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 2016.
  • 467,700 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 2006.
  • 577,900 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 1996.
  • 826,800 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 1986.
  • 1,465,700 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 1976.

The number of stay-at-home mothers as a proportion of non-working mothers has declined over time. In 1976, more than 9 in 10 non-working mothers in a single-earner family were stay-at-home parents. The rest were either unemployed, students or permanently unable to work. In 2016, a little more than three-quarters of non-working mothers in a single-earner family were stay-at-home moms, while almost one-quarter were either unemployed, students or unable to work.

  • 36.7 years — the average age of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 2016.
  • 40.6 years — the average age of single–earner mothers with at least one child under 16 in 2016.
  • 38.5 years — the average age of mothers in a dual-earner couple with at least one child under 16 in 2016.

Stay-at-home mothers were slightly younger on average than both single-earner mothers and mothers who were part of a dual-earner couple. The average age of stay-at-home mothers was 37 years, compared with 41 years for single-earner mothers and 39 years for mothers who were in a dual-earner couple.

Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS), custom tabulations

Time with the family

  • 421 minutes — the average amount of time that women spent per day with their family in 2010.
  • 374 minutes — the average amount of time that women spent per day with their family in 2005
  • 403 minutes — the average amount of time that women spent per day with their family in 1986.

Source: General Social Survey – Time Use. (Updated information will be available in the winter of 2017)

Congratulations! It's a boy/it's a girl

  • 380,323 — the number of live births in Canada in 2013. There were 195,183 males and 185,140 females
  • 381,869 — the number of live births in Canada in 2012. There were 196,446 males and 185,423 females
  • 377,636 — the number of live births in Canada in 2011. There were 193,587 males and 184,049 females
  • 377,213 — the number of live births in Canada in 2010. There were 193,465 males and 183,748 females

Source: CANSIM, table 102-4509

It's two, or more…

  • 3.3% - Percentage of live births that were multiple births in 2013
  • 2.1% - Percentage of live births that were multiple births in 1993

Source: Health Fact Sheets. Trends in Canadian births, 1993 to 2013

How old were you mommy when I was born?

  • 3.1% - Percentage of all Canadian live births in 2013 born to mothers aged younger than 20
  • 3.5% - Percentage of all Canadian live births in 2013 born to mothers aged 40 to 49
  • 93.4% - Percentage of all Canadian live births in 2013 born to mothers aged 20 to 39 years

Source: Health Fact Sheets. Trends in Canadian births, 1993 to 2013

Number of children per woman then and now

  • 1.61 — the estimated total fertility rate in 2011 (number of children per woman)
  • 1.54 — the estimated total fertility rate in 2001
  • 1.71 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1991
  • 1.65 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1981
  • 2.13 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1971
  • 3.86 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1961
  • 3.49 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1951
  • 2.83 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1941
  • 3.20 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1931
  • 6.56 — the estimated total fertility rate in 1851.

Source: Canadian Megatrends, "Fertility: Fewer children, older moms," released Thursday, November 13, 2014.

Mean age of mother at time of delivery (live births), 2013

  • 29.9 years – the mean age of mother at time of delivery (live births) in Canada.
Mean age of mother at time of delivery (live births), Canada, provinces and territories, 2013
Place of residence of mother Mean age
Canada 29.9
Newfoundland and Labrador 28.9
Prince Edward Island 29.1
Nova Scotia 29
New Brunswick 28.4
Quebec 29.9
Ontario 30.5
Manitoba 28.5
Saskatchewan 28.1
Alberta 29.5
British Columbia 30.7
Yukon 29.8
Northwest Territories 28.3
Nunavut 24.7

Source: CANSIM, table 102-4504

Adoptions

  • 537,000 — the number of people in Canada who reported in 2011 that they had adopted children.
  • 59% — the percentage of adoptive parents who had at least one biological child.

Source: General Social Survey - Family, 2011 (Cycle 25).

  • 2,100 — the number of international adoptions in Canada in 2009. China was the primary source country for adoptions.

Source: Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada, Migration, International, 2009.

Stepfamilies

Stepfamilies were counted for the first time in the 2011 Census of Population. Updated data on Families, households and marital status from the 2016 Census will be released on August 2, 2017.

  • 464,335 — the number of stepfamilies with at least one child aged 24 and under in 2011. They represented 12.6% of the nearly 3.7 million couple families with children.

Of these stepfamilies, 271,930 were simple stepfamilies, that is, those in which all children are the children of one and only one married spouse or common-law partner in the couple and whose birth or adoption preceded the current relationship. They accounted for 7.4% of couples with children.

The remaining 192,410 were complex stepfamilies, consisting of all other stepfamily types. Complex stepfamilies accounted for 5.2% of all couples with children.

Source: 2011 Census of Population: Families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling, collectives. (Watch for 2016 Census release on Families, coming August 2, 2017)

Stepparents

  • About 41,700 — the number of children in Canada aged 1 to 7 who lived with their stepfather and biological mother in 2010.
  • About 7,200 — the number of children in Canada aged 1 to 7 who lived with their biological father and stepmother in 2010.

Source: Survey of Young Canadians, 2010/2011.

See also: "Study: Profile of parents in stepfamilies, 2011," The Daily, Thursday, October 18, 2012.

Lone parents

  • 1,527,840 — the total number of lone-parent families in Canada in 2011.
  • 21% — the proportion of male lone-parent families in Canada in 2011.
  • 79% — the proportion of female lone-parent families in Canada in 2011.

Among lone-parent families, growth was more than twice as strong between 2006 and 2011 for male lone-parent families (+16.2%) compared with female lone-parent families (+6.0%).

Source: "2011 Census of Population: Families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling, collectives," The Daily, Wednesday, September 19, 2012.

The predominance of female lone parents has varied considerably over time. While lone parents have always been more likely to be female, in the early decades of the 20th century, relatively high maternal mortality contributed to proportionally more male lone parents.

  • 60% — the proportion of children living with a female lone parent in 1901.
  • 71.9% — the Proportion of children living with a female lone parent in 1941.
  • 83.4% — the proportion of children living with a female lone parent in 1991.
  • 79.9% — the proportion of children living with a female lone parent in 2011.

Source: Canadian Megatrends, "Lone-parent families: The new face of an old phenomenon," released February 24, 2015.

To learn more about families over the last 100 years, see "Study: Living arrangements of children in Canada, 1901 to 2011," The Daily, Tuesday, April 29, 2014.

Grandparents

  • 600,000 — the number of grandparents aged 45 and older, or about 8% of all grandparents in this age group in Canada, who lived in the same household as their grandchildren.
  • 12% — the proportion of grandparents aged 45 and older living with their grandchildren in which there was no middle-generation present.

Source: "Study: Grandparents living with their grandchildren, 2011," The Daily, Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

(Watch for 2016 Census release on Families, coming August 2, 2017)

Thanks, Mom!

  • 324.3 million — the number of cut flowers (including alstroemeria, chrysanthemums, daffodils, freesia, gerberas, iris, roses, snapdragons, tulips, lilies, lisianthus and other cut flowers) produced by greenhouses in Canada in 2015.

Source: CANSIM, table 001-0049.

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