Father's Day... by the numbers

2016

Father's Day is Sunday, June 19.

Here are some selected facts on fathers in Canada.

(Last updated: June 1, 2016)


Fathers in Canada

  • 8.6 million — The total number of fathers in Canada (including biological, adoptive and stepfathers) in 2011.
Number of fathers in Canada (including biological, adoptive and stepfathers), by province, 2011
  Number (thousands) Percent
Canada 8,611 100.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 138 1.6
Prince Edward Island 37 0.4
Nova Scotia 233 2.7
New Brunswick 206 2.4
Quebec 2,046 23.8
Ontario 3,281 38.1
Manitoba 303 3.5
Saskatchewan 260 3.0
Alberta 937 10.9
British Columbia 1,170 13.6
  • 3.8 million — The number of fathers in Canada with children under 18 living with them (including biological, adoptive and step fathers) in 2011.

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


New fathers

  • 28.3 years — The average age of fathers at the time of the birth of their first biological child in Canada in 2011.

Source: Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada.


Stepparents

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

Source: Survey of Young Canadians, 2010/2011.


Stepfamilies

Stepfamilies were counted for the first time in the 2011 Census of Population.

  • 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 biological or adopted 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," The Daily, Wednesday, September 19, 2012.


Parental leave

  • 27.1% — The proportion of recent fathers for all provinces combined who claimed or intended to claim leave in 2014
  • 78.3% — The proportion of recent fathers in Quebec who claimed or intended to claim parental leave in 2014.
  • 9.4% — The proportion of recent fathers in the other provinces who claimed or intended to claim parental leave in 2014.

Source: "Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, 2014," The Daily, Wednesday, November 23, 2015.


Children's living arrangements after separation or divorce

15% — The proportion of children whose primary residence after a separation or divorce was their father's home.
70% — The proportion of children whose primary residence after a separation or divorce was their mother's home.
9% — The proportion of children who had equal living time between the two parents' homes.
6% — The proportion of children who had other living arrangements.

Source: "Study: Parenting and child support after separation or divorce, 2011," The Daily, Wednesday, February 12, 2014.


Lone parents

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.

  • 40.0%— The proportion of children aged 24 and under in lone-parent families living with a male lone parent in 1901.
  • 28.1% — The proportion of children aged 24 and under in lone-parent families living with a male lone parent in 1941.
  • 16.6% — The proportion of children aged 24 and under in lone-parent families living with a male lone parent in 1991.
  • 15.5% — The proportion of children aged 24 and under in lone-parent families living with a male lone parent in 1996.
  • 20.1% — The proportion of children aged 24 and under in lone-parent families living with a male lone parent in 2011.

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

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%).

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

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


Adoptions

  • 537,000 — The number of people in Canada who reported in 2011 that they had adopted children.
  • 59% — The percentage of people in Canada who reported in 2011 that they had adopted a child and 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 remains the primary source country for adoptions.

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


Fathers caring for children

  • 131 minutes — The average amount of time that men spent per day on child care activities for children 12 years and under in 2010.

Watch for new data on time with the family in 2017

Source: General Social Survey - Time Use, 2010 (Cycle 24).


Helping with housework

  • 81% — The participation rate of men in housework and related activities in 2010.
  • 77% — The participation rate of men in housework and related activities in 2005.

Source: General Social Survey - Time Use, 2010 (Cycle 24).

See also: General Social Survey – 2010: Overview of the Time Use of Canadians.


Happy Father's Day from Statistics Canada!


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