Modern Canadian dads pitch in more around the house than a generation ago, but moms still overwhelmingly bear the brunt of cooking, cleaning and childcare, according to newly released data from Statistics Canada.
The statistics agency compared data from the 2015 Time Use Survey and compared it with the same report conducted in 1986.
The report found that Canadian fathers appear to be stepping up to the plate in several domestic areas. In 1986, just over half of fathers said they participated in household work. In 2015, that number rose to 76 per cent.
Today’s dads also reported spending almost half an hour more of average daily housework each day, at 2.4 hours, compared to two hours in 1986.
The chore that saw the highest increase in participation among dads was preparing meals. In 1986, just 29 per cent of fathers reported cooking at some point during the day. That number doubled to 59 per cent in 2015.
Of all the provinces, Quebec had the strongest participation rate for dads doing housework. Fathers in the French-speaking province reported a 41 per cent participation rate in chores, compared with just one-in-four dads in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
On a national scale, fathers reported spending more time caring for their children, with half of fathers participating in childcare in 2015 versus 33 per cent in 1986.
Despite the gains, the report suggests that domestic workloads between men and women aren’t yet balanced. Mothers in 2015 accounted for 61 per cent of total household work hours reported by parents. That’s down from 75 per cent in 1986.
Ninety-three per cent of mothers said they participated in daily housework in 2015, similar to the rate in 1986.
Today’s moms reported spending about half an hour less time doing housework than they did 30 years ago. But, at an average of three hours per day, they still spent in excess of half an hour more time on chores than men.
The findings were gathered from parents who were married or in a common-law relationship and lived with at least one of their children, aged 17 or younger. Both same-sex and opposite-sex parents were included. Data from single parents were not part of the analysis.
