B.C. has the lowest fertility rate in Canada, StatsCan says

A newborn and their mother. (Credit: kenan zhang/pexels.com)

The fertility rate in Canda reached an all-time low in 2023, and the lowest rate was recorded in British Columbia, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

A report released Wednesday says Canada’s fertility rate fell to 1.26 births per woman, meaning it has joined the cohort of “lowest-low” fertility countries with rates of 1.3 children per woman or less, including South Korea, Spain, Italy and Japan.

Canada’s fertility rate was 1.33 births per woman in 2022, which was the lowest recorded at the time. The fertility rate has been in general decline for more than 15 years, StatsCan says.

StatsCan defines fertility rate as the average number of live births a woman is estimated to have during her reproductive years if she experienced the same rate observed in a given year at each age.

In total, 351,477 babies were born in Canada in 2023, just 202 fewer than in 2022. Because the number of births stayed virtually the same, StatsCan says the decline in fertility rate between the two years is mostly due to the fact that there were more women of child-bearing age in 2023.

On the provincial level, fertility rates reached record lows in 10 out of 13 provinces and territories. None lower than B.C., which hit 1.00 children per woman in 2023. A total of 41,268 babies were born in the province.

B.C. also has the highest average age of childbearing in the country at 32.6—the national average being 31.7 years old.

The highest fertility rate in Canada was seen in Nunavut, at 2.48 kids per woman, followed by Saskatchewan at 1.63.

Declining fertility rates have been attributed to financial strain and lifestyle changes.

A 2023 StatsCan study revealed socioeconomic obstacles such as the rising cost of living, high inflation and interest rates disproportionately challenged young people, lowering their quality of life and affecting their family plans.

The study found 38 per cent of young adults aged 20 to 29 did not believe they could afford to have a child in the next three years, and 32 per cent believed they wouldn’t have access to suitable housing in order to start a family in the same time frame.

“The affordability concerns facing youth are influencing the choices young adults are making, such as where to live, and whether to have children, in ways that are expected to influence Canada's long-term demographic and geographic composition,” the report reads.