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Census Canada 2011: Same-sex marriage, childless couples, common-law couples and lone-parent families on the rise
The sanctity of marriage as the bedrock of the Canadian family is steadily eroding as the country’s social fabric evolves, new census data released Wednesday reveals.
Instead, although married couples are still the norm – about two thirds of families – their numbers are lagging and only increased by 3.1% between 2006 and 2011.
In contrast, the number of common-law couples rose by 13.9% and lone-parent families rose by 8% over the same period.
The shift means that common-law couples now account for 16.7% of all families, and lone-parent families now represent 16.3% of the total.
Meanwhile, in another trend reflective of the changing social landscape, same-sex couples are increasingly settling down together. Notably, the number of same-sex marriages tripled between 2006 and 2011, the first five-year period during which they could legally tie the knot in Canada.
Canada Census 2011 Graphic: Where do the oldest and youngest Canadians live?
The 2011 Census showed Canada as a country rapidly greying. However, the nation’s aging population is not spread evenly. The National Post‘s graphics department takes a look at the demographics of the country highlighting the areas that are the oldest and youngest.
Canada goes grey: Boomers’ new strain on pensions, health care
Canada is slowly but surely becoming a nation of older people. The demographic trends were confirmed Tuesday, as Statistics Canada released the latest batch of data from its 2011 census. Back in 1971, eight per cent of us were 65 and older.
Last year, as the first wave of baby boomers reached the milestone, the proportion was 14.8 per cent. That’s nearly 5 million seniors (4,945,060, to be exact) out of 33.5 million Canadians.
There were 5,825 Canadians who have reached their 100th birthday — centenarians — and the number is projected to steadily rise to a whopping 78,300 in the next 50 years.
All the while — and here’s a surprise — there’s a mini-baby boom happening in this country. The population of children aged four and under increased 11 per cent between 2006 and 2011 — the highest growth rate for this age group since the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Census Canada 2011 infographic: How the new population stats break down by province and city
There are now 33.5 million people living in Canada, and our population is growing faster than that of any other G8 nation; results of the 2011 census released on Wednesday show. Click through the tabs to see figures for the population overall and breakdowns for the provinces, territories and urban centres.
