Canada's fertility rate drops to lowest level ever recorded: StatCan

Canada’s total fertility rate has fallen to a record low level.

The rate for 2019 was 1.47 births per woman over the course of her life, Statistics Canada data released today show.

For a population to replace itself (i.e., remain at similar overall numbers), the rate must be at least 2.1 births per woman.

In 1959, the rate was 3.94, but since 1971 Canada’s fertility rate has been below replacement level.

There were 372,038 live births in the country in 2019, excluding Yukon.

“With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that birth rates may have changed,” StatCan explained.

“In addition, if immigration levels were to fall, fertility rates would become more important for population growth to be sustained.”

The data also show that the average age for a woman to give birth in 2019 was 29.4 years, compared to 23.2 in 1959.

In BC, the average age was 30.4 – the oldest in Canada.

“This trend, common in other countries including the United States, coincides with increased participation for women aged 25 to 54 years in the workforce and a rise in university-educated women,” StatCan explained.

“According to data from the Labour Force Survey, the percentage of women in the workforce increased from 22% in 1950 to 84% in 2019, and the proportion of women with a university degree nearly tripled from 14% in 1990 to 40% in 2019.”

Women in the 30–34 age group were more likely to have a baby than women in any other group in 2019.

The data also show that older first-time mothers were more than twice as likely to have twins or triplets.

In 2019, 4.3% of first-time mothers aged 40 or older gave birth to multiples compared with less than 1.6% of first-time mothers younger than 40.