Canadian Children’s Living Arrangements | Institute for Family Studies

In his 2009 book, The Marriage-Go-Round, Andrew Cherlin argues that America has a distinct family culture marked by frequent marriage, divorce, and brief cohabitation that either dissolves or transitions into marriage. Cherlin argues this is a distinct pattern compared to other western nations. Evidence suggests U.S. marriage culture is distinct from trends in Canada.

Despite the proximity of the U.S. to Canada, and the sheer volume of American pop culture that flows northward in exchange for a handful of Canadian-born comedians, marriage and family culture in Canada retains some distinction from its southern neighbor. These distinctions emerge when examining the living arrangements of Canadian children. But one doesn’t need to leave Canada to find significant regional differences. For example, family structure in Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province, continues to reflect a distinct social culture that is unique in North America. 

At the Canadian-based think tank Cardus, we recently analyzed custom tabulations from the 2021 Canadian Census on the family structure of children aged zero to 14 in private households. These tabulations include the parental marital status of children living in intact families and stepfamilies. We examined the portion of intact families and the marital status of children’s parents as an indirect measure of family stability. 

Nearly one in five Canadian children witness the separation or dissolution of their parents’ relationship by age 18. Despite this high percentage, little public attention is given to family structure and child well-being as a result of family breakdown. The public discourse around poverty or economic inequality in Canada rarely acknowledges the empirical evidence pointing to the correlations between family structure transitions and poorer outcomes for children, including lower academic achievement and behavioral issues. 

Statistics Canada first delineated between intact families and stepfamilies in the 2011 Census. This is a valuable addition to the national statistical agency’s reporting. Unfortunately, this recent emphasis has resulted in less reporting on the legal marital status of two-parent families. While Statistics Canada collects data on the marital status of children’s parents, the married/cohabiting distinction is not as readily available. The custom tabulations we examined account for this distinction. 

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Canadian Children’s Living Arrangements | Institute for Family Studies