Families (1996)

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Historically, the "traditional" family included a husband who worked outside the home, with a wife and children at home. Many factors are responsible for changing the predominance of this type of family. Since 1974, dual earner families have outnumbered the traditional family with more women working outside of the home. The growth in separation and divorce rates has contributed to the increase in lone-parent families. A rise in the number of couples deciding not to legally marry has resulted in a greater proportion of common-law unions. The acceptance of re-marriage has added to the fast growing phenomenon of "blended families". In the case of Aboriginal Peoples, their extended family is also regarded as part of their form of family.

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There is no one definition that describes all aspects of "the family". Since this series of maps draws primarily on data derived from the 1996 Census, the word "family" will refer to Statistics Canada's definition of "census family". A census family is defined as "a now-married or common-law couple with or without never-married children, or a lone parent with never-married children, living in the same dwelling". Unfortunately this definition does not include all familial relationships or others living under the same roof such as adult siblings or grandparents. The definition further excludes lone parents as family members once their children marry or leave home.

The variables, or sets of data, used to generate these maps include: census family status, legal marital status, census family structure, and census family composition. Marital status is reported for every Canadian; however, the census family variables represent a subset of the total population. The reference to children in these maps includes all children, regardless of their age, that are living at home and have never been married.

All Canadians have a marital status, however it is possible that not all Canadians belong to a census family. Here are two examples of how the data sets relate: An unmarried person living alone would report "Single" as the legal marital status and would not be counted as part of a census family; while a person not legally married but living in a common-law relationship would be classified as part of a census family yet could have a "single" marital status.

Trends in the Canadian Family

Many statistics and trends that are of importance to understanding the Canadian family have been observed through the data available from Statistics Canada:

• Common-law and lone-parent families together comprise over one-quarter of all families (26%), with married couple families representing nearly three-quarters (74%).
• The number of families increased from 1991 to 1996 by 6.6%. In 1996 there were 7.8 million families in Canada.
• Although there are more families in 1996, there has been a decline in the proportion of Canadians living in families from 89% in 1971 to 84% in 1996.
• While the majority of Canada's children still live in married couple families, the number of children whose parents are living common-law has increased dramatically - by 52% between 1991 to 1996.
• The average family size has also decreased from 3.7 in 1971 to 3.1 in 1996. The Northwest Territories maintains the largest average family size of 3.6 persons in 1996, with high birth-rates being a major contributing factor.
• Parents are choosing to have children at an older age.
• Young adults remain at home longer than a decade ago.

Data and Mapping Notes provides information regarding the 1996 Census data presented in the maps and references to mapping techniques used.