Single-Parent Families

Since the end of the Second World War, there has been a trend among Canadians toward fewer marriages. The result is that more children are being raised in common-law relationships or by single parents. The trend toward common-law relationships has been especially pronounced in Quebec. But are there regional differences across Canada with respect to single-parent families?

As the map and tables illustrate, the percentage of families led by a single parent is far higher in the North than in Southern Canada. The five census divisions with the lowest percentage of single-parent families are all in Southern Manitoba. The five census divisions with the highest percentage of single-parent families are all in Canada's North.

Single-parent families have child-care and social-service needs that can be quite different from those of families led by married or common-law couples. In some cases, these different needs create economic challenges for both the individual families and for the communities in which they live. In Canada's North, these challenges might be further compounded by problems related to overcrowded housing (see Sleeping on the Couch), low high school graduation rates (see High School Confidential), and, in some regions, higher unemployment rates (see Go South, Young Man).

Source: The Conference Board of Canada.

Methodology

In the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada divided families into three categories-those led by a married couple, a common-law couple, or a single parent.

Data from two fields--"Total number of census families in private households" and "Total single-parent families by sex of parent and number of children"--were exported from Statistics Canada's Profile for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions, and Census Subdivisions, 2006 Census (catalogue number 94-581-XCB2006001) using Beyond 20/20 Professional Browser.

These data were imported into Microsoft Excel, where the percentage of families led by a single parent was calculated for every census division in Canada. These values were sorted in Excel, and the census divisions with the highest and lowest proportions in the country appear in the accompanying tables.

The percentage values for each census division were imported into a geographic information system (ArcGIS). Census divisions were classified as "<15%," "15%-20%" and ">20%." All census divisions in Canada were mapped, and those in Northern Canada in the ">20%" category were labelled.

About the Series

Here, the North is a bi-weekly series researched, written, and produced by The Conference Board of Canada's Centre for the North. The series is designed to illustrate similarities and differences--between Canada's North and South, and between Northern regions-in keeping with the Centre's mandate to provide policy--directed research to decision makers.

This issue of Here, the North was researched and written by Peter Wilson.