Father's Day… by the numbers

2014

Father’s Day is Sunday, June 15.

Here are some selected facts on fathers in Canada.

(Last updated: May 5, 2014)

Fathers in Canada

  • 8.6 million — The total number of fathers in Canada (including biological, adoptive and step fathers) in 2011.
Number of fathers in Canada (including biological, adoptive and stepfathers), by province, 2011
  Number (thousands) Percent
Canada 8,611 100.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 138 1.6
Prince Edward Island 37 0.4
Nova Scotia 233 2.7
New Brunswick 206 2.4
Quebec 2,046 23.8
Ontario 3,281 38.1
Manitoba 303 3.5
Saskatchewan 260 3.0
Alberta 937 10.9
British Columbia 1,170 13.6
Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2011.
  • 3.8 million — The number of fathers in Canada with children under 18 living with them (including biological, adoptive and step fathers) in 2011.
Number of fathers in Canada with children under 18 living with them (including biological, adoptive and stepfathers), by province, 2011
  Number (thousands) Percent
Canada 3,847 100.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 54 1.4
Prince Edward Island 14 0.4
Nova Scotia 77 2.0
New Brunswick 81 2.1
Quebec 863 22.4
Ontario 1,544 40.1
Manitoba 131 3.4
Saskatchewan 117 3.0
Alberta 452 11.8
British Columbia 513 13.3
Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2011.

Source: General Social Survey - Family, 2011 (Cycle 25).

New fathers

  • 28.3 years — The average age of fathers at the time of the birth of their first biological child in Canada in 2011.

Source: Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada.

Stepparents

  • About 41,700 — The number of children aged 1 to 7 who lived with their stepfather and biological mother in 2010.
  • About 7,200 — The number of children aged 1 to 7 who lived with their biological father and stepmother in 2010.

Source: Survey of Young Canadians, 2010/2011.

Stepfamilies

Stepfamilies were counted for the first time in the 2011 Census of Population.

  • 464,335 — The number of stepfamilies with at least one child aged 24 and under in 2011. They represented 12.6% of the nearly 3.7 million couple families with children.

Of these stepfamilies, 271,930 were simple stepfamilies, that is, those in which all children are the biological or adopted children of one and only one married spouse or common-law partner in the couple and whose birth or adoption preceded the current relationship. They accounted for 7.4% of couples with children.

The remaining 192,410 were complex stepfamilies, consisting of all other stepfamily types. Complex stepfamilies accounted for 5.2% of all couples with children.

Source: "2011 Census of Population: Families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling, collectives," The Daily, Wednesday, September 19, 2012.

Parental leave

  • 80.1% — The proportion of recent fathers in Quebec who took or intended to take parental leave in 2012.
  • 9.4% — The proportion of recent fathers outside Quebec who took or intended to take parental leave in 2012.

Source: “Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, 2012,” The Daily, Friday, November 15, 2013.

Lone parents

Among lone-parent families, growth was more than twice as strong between 2006 and 2011 for male lone-parent families (+16.2%) compared with female lone-parent families (+6.0%).

  • 1,527,840 — The total number of lone-parent families in Canada in 2011.
  • 21% — The proportion of male lone-parent families in Canada in 2011.
  • 79% — The proportion of female lone-parent families in Canada in 2011.

Source: "2011 Census of Population: Families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling, collectives," The Daily, Wednesday, September 19, 2012.

Adoptions

  • 537,000 — The number of people in Canada who reported in 2011 that they had adopted children.
  • 59% — The percentage of people in Canada who reported in 2011 that they had adopted a child and who had at least one biological child.

Source: General Social Survey - Family, 2011 (Cycle 25).

  • 2,100 — The number of international adoptions in Canada in 2009. China remains the primary source country for adoptions.

Source: Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada, Migration, International, 2009.

Time with the family

  • 379 minutes — The amount of time men spent with their family members on an average day in 2010.
  • 345 minutes — The amount of time men spent with their family members on an average day in 2005.
  • 360 minutes — The amount of time men spent with their family members on an average day in 1986.

Source: General Social Survey - Time Use, 2010 (Cycle 24).

Helping with housework

  • 81% — The participation rate of men in housework and related activities in 2010.
  • 77% — The participation rate of men in housework and related activities in 2005.

Source: General Social Survey - Time Use, 2010 (Cycle 24).

See also: General Social Survey – 2010: Overview of the Time Use of Canadians.

Happy Father’s Day from Statistics Canada!

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