OTTAWA – A new report from Statistics Canada is shedding light on who is — and who isn’t — having children in Canada. The report, released Wednesday, tracks data from 2017 to 2023 and finds income and employment are increasingly becoming factors in who becomes a parent. According to Statistics Canada, women from households in the top 20 per cent of the income distribution had a 14.1 per cent likelihood of having a first child. That was more than double the likelihood for women from households in the bottom 20 per cent. The income difference can come from higher earnings by the prospective mother or a partner whose income provides greater financial stability for the household. The findings don’t surprise Toronto-based financial writer Renee Sylvestre-Williams, who says they reflect the affordability challenges facing Canadians. “It’s expensive to have a kid, and then it’s compounded when cost of living has also become very expensive,” Sylvestre-Williams told CTV News. “If you can afford it, you can have a kid. If you can’t afford it, unfortunately, fertility is one of the things that gets sidelined.” The costs can quickly add up. Beyond food, housing and transportation, parents must also pay for clothing, formula, diapers, baby furniture and car seats, with many of those expenses fluctuating from month to month. “Baseline, you’re looking at just under $300,000 to get them to 18, and that number only goes up,” she said. It’s no surprise, Sylvestre-Williams said, that prospective parents may look for financial security before adding another member to the family. But financial security isn’t the only factor linked to the likelihood of becoming a first-time parent. Statistics Canada also found that the type of employment can play a role. Women employed in the public sector were more likely to have a child than women working in other industries, regardless of income level. Women in unionized jobs were also more likely to have a first child. The findings come as Canada grapples with a declining birth rate and tries to better understand what is driving the trend. Canada’s fertility rate has been falling steadily since the 1960s, reaching a record low of 1.25 children per woman in 2024. That placed Canada in the “ultra-low fertility” category, a trend that could have implications for the economy, immigration and the long-term viability of social programs. Several countries facing similar demographic challenges have introduced programs aimed at encouraging people to have more children. So far, however, those efforts have had limited success.
