Finances, job market among reasons Canadians are holding back on having children: poll

New polling shows that for a lot of Canadians, finances and the job market are a deciding factor when they’re deciding whether or not to have a baby.

The Angus Reid poll of 1,300 adult Canadians under the age of 50 asked respondents if they plan on having a child, with a little over 50 per cent indicating they are still interested in one.

Within that group, about half say they have delayed having children longer than they preferred, with that number going up to nearly 75 per cent among those between the ages of 35 and 44 years old.

“It does suggest there’s a bit of instability that is leading Canadians to hold off,” Dave Korzinski, Research Director at the Angus Reid Institute, explained. “You have a lot of people in their 30s saying ‘I’d like to have kids but I am waiting longer than I would like too.’”

The leading reasons for this include concerns about finances, finding the right partner, childcare costs, and housing affordability.

The poll numbers come as Statistics Canada reports Canada recorded its lowest fertility rate in 2023, the second-year in a row.

“If the birth rate continues to decline like it’s been declining — and not recovering sometime soon — we’re going to see more population gaining than we anticipated,” said Don Kerr a professor at Kings University College and Western University.

While the country’s fertility rate is going down, an increasing number of Canadians are turning to fertility clinics to plan for their future family.

“The contraceptive pill was introduced in the 1960s and allowed women to pursue their careers and to pursue life rather than immediately embark on childbearing,” explained Dr. Imran Pirwany from Oasis Fertility Centre. “That is what egg freezing does for us now… Fertility declines as a woman ages.”

But, one of the biggest barriers for families who want to buy a bit more time before having a family is cost. 

“We have been lobbying the government to make fertility treatment universal and applicable to all Albertans,” said Pirwany.”We do feel very strongly that it is a medical condition which affects 15 per cent of the population; that translates as one ins six couples have fertility issues.”

Korzinski says if some of the expressed concerns can be addressed, Canada would likely see a boost in the birth rate.