Marriage

Marriages form the foundation for most Canadian families. In 2002, about 84% of Canadian families were headed by married couples. The number of new young people getting married has been declining steadily, however. In 1950, during the marriage boom that followed the Second World War, about half of women aged 20 to 24 were married. By 2002, that proportion had fallen to about 11%. Similarly, 75% of men in their early twenties were single in 1951, compared with 95% fifty years later.

The average age for first marriages is rising steadily for both brides and grooms. In 2000, first-time brides were 31.7 years old, while grooms proclaimed their first marriage vows at an average age of 34.3. Only two decades earlier, women and men were 25.9 and 28.5 years old, respectively, when they got married. Factors such as greater economic opportunities for women and the growing popularity of common-law unions have contributed to the postponement of first marriage.

Overall, Canada's marriage rate is declining. In 1989, 190,600 marriages were recorded, but by 2000, this number was just 157,400—its highest level in five years. This pattern is reflected in other nations as well. In 1997, Canada's marriage rate was similar to that of the United Kingdom and Australia, whereas the marriage rate in the United States was 1.5 times ours. In 2001, the proportion of married-couple families was 70%, down from 83% in 1981, whereas common-law families increased to 14% from 6%.

The religious sanction of marriage remains important to many Canadians. Members of the clergy conducted three-quarters of all weddings in 1997. Religious weddings were most common in Ontario. By contrast, more than half the weddings in British Columbia were civil services. The commitment to the church occurred less often the second time around—only 58% of remarriages involved religious ceremonies.

Another tradition—the connection between marriage and baby carriage—is more tenuous than in the past. Although 68% of Canada's children aged 0 to 14 still live in families headed by a married couple in 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of children living in families headed by single parents and common-law partners. Nationally, 13% of all children aged 0 to 14 were living in common-law-couple families, more than four times the proportion in 1981. However, not all children shared a roof with both parents: 19% of Canadian children aged 0 to 14 did not live with both parents in 2001.