In recent decades, women’s family and fertility patterns in Canada have shifted dramatically, influenced by higher education, increased workforce participation, changing norms, and widespread contraception.
Canada enters an era of ultra-low fertility
The term "ultra-low fertility" is commonly used to describe a total fertility rate below 1.30 children per woman.
In 2024, Canada entered the ranks of countries with ultra-low fertility as it reached a record low fertility rate of 1.25 children per woman. The decrease in fertility was driven by fewer births as well as a growing share of women who are choosing to remain childless, delaying motherhood or facing barriers to having children.
The average age of first-time mothers peaked at 31.8 years in 2024, while childlessness among women aged 50 years and older rose from 14.1% in 1990 to 17.4% in 2022.
Over half of Canadian women aged 20 to 49 years are childless
The 2024 Survey on Family Transitions examined these trends and their implications, finding that just over half (51.5%) of Canadian women aged 20 to 49 years have no children.
Childlessness was highest among younger women in their 20s, at 88.5%, followed by women in their 30s (43.2%) and 40s (23.6%).
How births in Canada are changing depending on mothers’ place of birth
The total number of births in Canada would have declined since 2010 without the contribution of foreign-born mothers. In 2024, more than two in five newborns (42.3%) in Canada had a foreign-born mother (i.e., a mother who was born outside Canada), a proportion that has nearly doubled in just over one-quarter of a century (22.5% in 1997).
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).