Statistics Canada confirmed last week that 351,679 babies were born in 2022 — the lowest number of live births since 345,044 births were recorded in 2005.
The disparity is all the more notable given that Canada had just 32 million people in 2005, as compared to the 40 million it counted by the end of 2022. In 2005, it was already at historic lows for Canada to have a fertility rate of 1.57 births per woman. But given the 2022 figures, that fertility rate has now sunk to 1.33.
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Of Canadians in their 20s, Statistics Canada found that 38 per cent of them “did not believe they could afford to have a child in the next three years” — with about that same number (32 per cent) saying they doubted they’d be able to find “suitable housing” in which to care for a baby.
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A January survey by the Angus Reid Group asked women to list the ideal size of their family against its actual size, and concluded that the average Canadian woman reached the end of their childbearing years with 0.5 fewer children than they would have wanted
“In Canada, unlike many other countries, fertility rates and desires rise with income: richer Canadians have more children,” it read.
And government child benefits wouldn’t help? If you are struggling that much (and I don’t suggest having a kid if you are struggling at all), the government will pay you monthly for the next 18 years that you have a child…
I think you need to look beyond finances to make this decision, though. Do you have the energy and time for a kid? Are you willing to put all your plans on hold for the foreseeable future, potentially burden your relationship, for a child? Will you be able to quit your job to spend your entire day caring for a child with special needs? Are you willing to care for that child beyond age 18, when the financial burden of supporting them (a third adult) could jeopardize your retirement?
The decision to have a child shouldn’t be made lightly, regardless of how strong society pushes for it. Neither should the decision to have pets, but I digress.
I do wish you and your partner all the best, and hope that you find more financial stability in your lives.
the amount that any government pays you when you have a child is a pittance compared to the cost of having a child… especially if you want to do more than simply scrape by and have like… christmas, birthdays…
That’s another thing. Being able to afford the bare minimum isn’t enough to justify having kids. People who grew up in poverty say it sucked and it’s better to have fewer kids than have them live in poverty
Kids under 10 aren’t expensive, especially when you’re getting a few hundred dollars extra every month from the government.
What’s expensive is going out to buy a brand new $800 stroller, a $400 crib, hundreds on toys that will outgrow or discard after a few months, luxury items that aren’t needed. In other words, new parents are more than likely overspending when they don’t need to.
Be creative and raising a kid isn’t expensive… until they become teens/adults and are still dependant on you. LOL
FYI: Stats Canada published recent data on the cost of raising a kid in Canada (how much parents spent). It’s estimated that low-income homes spend around $30,000 for a child from 0 - 12 years of age ($214 / month on average). Just throwing in some numbers in the child benefit calculator for two people making $35,000 each with around $1200 in rent a month, they’d get $207 in child benefits + other beneifts (climate action incentives, etc.). $7 out of pocket to spend on the kid… if you are overspending like people usually do.
So, yeah, it’s not the cost of having kids that turns people off from having them. The study that the article is based on even says this!
yeah and it’s possible to live on $15 of food per day without internet, electricity, a car
… but we don’t, because it’s not comfortable
like you’re literally saying that if you think raising kids is too much of a financial burden maybe you haven’t considered giving up everything in your life to pay for one
how about no… my bar for having kids (actually i never want kids for so many reasons, but if i did) is not just survival
Also with inflation these days I’m not sure if you can actually feed a family on $15 per day, even if you try really hard. You also need internet and electricity these days, it’s not even optional. Hell I think my landlord probably evict me if we let them shut off the electricity. Since this is Canada we’re talking about you probably do need the car because they botched things just as bad as the Americans
I think you misunderstood… or, perhaps I’m not following you.
Do you expect that people should not have to pay for the care of their own child? Is putting in more than $7 too much?
Canadian families, according to stats Canada, are not losing money by having a child. Many in the lower-income groups might actually be turning a profit in the early years, since they’d get more money in child benefits than they’d be spending. I’m not saying this as opinion, that’s what the data is suggesting.
If having kids were a cheat code to having more money we would be seeing the exact opposite thing happen than what we’re seeing. Also how much does it cost to buy a rent an additional bedroom in canada? The housing market there is insane so that I will probably wipe out your meager government benefit
I’m not in Canada but childcare for our two children when they were little was $24k/year. I’d imagine its more like $30k/year now. We did not go overboard and buy the latest fad this or that, and used tons of hand me downs, but we absolutely needed childcare so that we both could work. Their afterschool, once they were old enough for public Elementary school, was around $10k/year for the two of them.
Does Canada provide free childcare? Would a couple, with each making $35k/year, qualify for free childcare? Otherwise I don’t see how $30k would cover one child from 0-12 years.
I’m pretty sure they got their numbers wrong. I have linked to a Stats Canada article in a different reply with what I think are correct numbers that are massively higher than their claim.
Another thing you have to worry about is the uncertainty. Do you trust that the government will still provide free childcare for 12 years? Do you think you could afford to pay for it if they couldn’t? What if the cost of something else went up. I could see myself having a kid if I was financially comfortable and stress-free but I’m barely maintaining myself so there’s no fucking way I would even dream of having a kid
In Ontario, we have $10/day daycare available, but multiple child benefits and a daycare subsidy, depending on your needs and situation.
Child planning should include the cost of daycare.
Some families find it better to have one partner stay at home with their child, rather than pay for daycare. They would still get childcare benefits ($200+ dollars a month), and that wouldn’t stop the partner from working part-time.
People do have to be realistic here. If they need to have both partners working to make ends meet, is a child really the best thing for them?
Your last paragraph shows you really do understand what’s going on but you refuse to recognize it
Oh boy, you really are out of touch and have no idea what you’re talking about. Please stop.
…Are you high? The article literally states that a third of young canadians are doing just that.
The article is misleading.
Firstly, the stats can census really only talks about affordability, while the survey linked in the article talks about actual “factors influencing family plans”, and quite literally states that:
“The view that parenting is demanding is a bigger factor for low fertility than is housing or childcare costs.”
The article is referring to low fertility rates, skips the survey data they linked to, and then jumps to the conclusion that it’s all about costs! That’s dishonest journalism.
i’m just gonna quote a couple of sections from the conclusion of the survey here that actual statisticians wrote after analysing their own data:
I saw your cost claim and found it really hard to believe. I mean I spend more than $200 a month raising two cats lol. I found this from Stats Canada from 2017 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2023007-eng.htm as far as I can see your numbers a way off. Looking at Table 2 for Predicted annual expenditures for one child in a one child family. It costs $14960 a year from 0-5 or $1246 a month which seems much more realistic. I wonder if you were assuming that total was from 0-5 rather than the total per year from 0-5. If you take the 0-17 total of $290,580 the monthly is $1424.
I’m seeing it written as “total expenses” for each age group, not yearly expenses.
$1200 a month for an infant seems outrageous! LOL
$1200/mo for literally everyone else in this discussion seems entirely what we expected
How much do you think they pay per kid per month? How much does that kid cost? Do the math