BC has the lowest fertility rate in Canada. Is the cost of housing to blame?
Home prices in BC and Metro Vancouver have taken up much of the conversation in the political and social spheres over many years.
Still, new data from Stats Canada reveals other impacts home prices might have, like how it may affect the province’s fertility rate.
According to newly compiled data, the high cost of housing in metropolitan areas of provinces like British Columbia and Ontario has been linked to lower or postponed fertility.
Stats Canada states that across provinces and territories, the fertility rate has been relatively stable in recent years, and variations between regions have decreased over time; however, some variation reflects differences in sociocultural and institutional settings.
Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia have seen some of Canada’s lowest period fertility rates. Stats Canada points to relatively high unemployment rates as a potential driver behind this. Across Canada, there has been a shift in childbearing ages. For example, in 2011, BC was a minority of provinces where most births occurred in women aged 30 and older. Between 2016 and 2020, BC saw a significant drop in its overall fertility rate.
That brings us back to housing prices in BC and how economic factors could impact the province’s fertility rates.
In 2016, the fertility rate per female was 1.38. In 2017 that dropped to 1.33; in 2018, it fell further to 1.27; it dropped to 1.23 in 2019; 1.17 in 2020, the lowest in Canada.
Stats Canada
Ontario’s fertility rate in 2020 was 1.34. Compared to Alberta, where housing is much more affordable, the fertility rate was 1.51 in 2020.
Data from 2017 suggests that trend has moved over to other provinces in Canada, too, with BC leading the charge with an astounding 65% of births belonging to mothers in an age group of 30 years of age and older.
Stats Canada
A shift in gender roles likely plays a huge part in the data. For example, Stats Canada points to how the rise of women’s paid employment has impacted the age of motherhood for many.
The stats indicate that, to some degree, it boils down to common sense. If residents in BC can’t afford a home to house a family, the odds of them deciding to have a family greatly diminish.
It would be hard to raise a kid if you’re spending 40% of your monthly income on rent, let alone how much it costs on average to buy a house.
Have you put off starting a family because of the cost of living in BC? Let us know in the comments.
Follow Channels and Categories