Families and households

This publication brings together and analyzes a wide range of data sources in order to provide information on various aspects of Canadian society, including labour, income, education, social, and demographic issues, that affect the lives of Canadians.

This infographic presents findings on reasons people move dwellings, location of previous dwellings for households that moved in the past five years, and length of time until planning to move for all households.

Series Description - The Basic Summary Tabulations Series (1996 Census of Population) provides data based on approximately 75 cross-tabulations of three or four census variables at five very detailed levels of geography. This series shows specific characteristics of the Canadian population considered either as individuals or in terms of their family or household relations, or with a characteristic pertaining to Canadian dwellings. The BSTs provide data based on a 20% sample except for Age, Sex, Marital Status and Common-law Status which are collected from a 100% sample.

These tables are available on diskette and cover all census variable information such as Demographics; Families (Number, Type and Structure); Structural Type of Dwelling and Household Size; Immigration and Citizenship; Languages (e.g. Mother Tongue); Aboriginal Origins, Ethnic Origin and Visible Minorities (Population Groups); Labour Market Activities and Household Activities (unpaid work); Place of Work and Mode of Transportation; Education; Mobility and Migration; as well as Individual and Family Income.

For ease in understanding the five levels of geography, the OLC numbers have related the last 3 digits to reflect the different geographies. See the information below.

**Under Geographic Coverage, we have listed the five geographies with OLC numbers.

BSTs ending with the following OLC #s represent:

001 - Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions002 - Census Metropolitan Areas, Tracted Census Agglomerations and Census Tracts003 - Canada, Provinces, Territories, Federal Electoral Districts (1987 Representation Order) and Enumeration Areas004 - Canada, Provinces, Territories and Federal Electoral Districts (1996 Representation Order)005 - Canada, Provinces, Territories and Forward Sortation Areas

Number and proportion of population in core housing need, by economic family structure, sex, age group and selected demographic characteristics, Canada, provinces and territories.

This interactive tool allows users to visualize income data of census families and persons not in census families by type of family and income source for Canada, provinces/territories and census metropolitan area/census agglomeration. It shows the most recent data available from the Annual income estimates for Census families and individuals (T1 Family file). For the national and provincial levels, some data are presented from the year 2000 and onward.

This table contains 7532 series, with data for years 2014 - 2014 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (161 items: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador; Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador; Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador; ...); Filing method (3 items: Paper; Netfile; Efile); Marital status (3 items: Married or living common-law; Single, divorced, separated or widowed; Unstated); Child status (2 items: No children declared; With children declared); Age group (4 items: 18 and under; 19 to 25 years; 26 to 64 years; 65 and over).

Focusing on a selected geographic area, this product presents data highlights for each of the major releases of the 2016 Census. These data highlights are presented through text, tables and figures. A map image of the geographic area is also included in the product. The geographic levels presented in this product include Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census divisions and census subdivisions.

Data highlights are presented according to the major 2016 Census release dates: February 8, 2017 – Population and dwelling counts; May 3, 2017 – Age and sex, Type of dwelling; August 2, 2017 – Families, households and marital status, Language; September 13, 2017 – Income; October 25, 2017 – Immigration and ethnocultural diversity, Housing, Aboriginal peoples; November 29, 2017 – Education, Labour, Journey to work, Language of work, Mobility and migration.

This profile presents information from the 2016 Census of Population for various levels of geography, including provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, communities and census tracts. Data are from the 2016 Census of Population and are available according to their release. February 8, 2017 – Population and dwelling counts; May 3, 2017 – Age and sex, Type of dwelling; August 2, 2017 – Families, households and marital status, Language; September 13, 2017 – Income; October 25, 2017 – Immigration and ethnocultural diversity, Housing, Aboriginal peoples; November 29, 2017 – Education, Labour, Journey to work, Language of work, Mobility and migration.

This table presents individual Market Basket Measure (MBM) low-income status and economic family characteristics of persons for the population in private households of Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations.

This table presents highest certificate, diploma or degree, family characteristics of adults including presence and ages of children, age and sex for the population aged 15 years and over in private households of Canada, provinces and territories, 2006 Census – 20% sample data, 2011 National Household Survey – 30% sample data and 2016 Census – 25% sample data.

This table presents mobility status 1 year ago, mother tongue, marital status, age and sex for the population aged 1 year and over in private households of Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations.

This table presents mobility status 5 years ago, mother tongue, marital status, age and sex for the population aged 5 years and over in private households of Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations.

Starting with the Census of Population release on age and sex, and on subsequent release dates, profile-component data will be available at the Canada, province and territory, economic region, census division and census subdivision levels, at the census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, population centre and census tract levels, at the designated place level, at the federal electoral district (based on the 2013 Representation Order) level, and at the dissemination area and aggregate dissemination area levels.

Profile component data for all other standard geographic areas, including dissolved census subdivisions and forward sortation areas, will be available after the Census of Population release dates.

This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography, including provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, communities and census tracts. Data are from the Census of Population and include characteristics for: population, age, sex, dwellings, families, marital status, language, income, education and labour as examples.

This table presents family characteristics, Aboriginal identity, Registered or Treaty Indian status, residence by Aboriginal geography, age and sex for the population in private households of Canada, provinces and territories.

This fact sheet looks at households with respect to parks and green spaces using data from the 2013 Households and the Environment Survey.

In the early decades of the 20th century, lone-parent families were relatively prevalent. The proportion of children who lived with a lone parent was nearly as high in 1931 as it was in 1981, though the circumstances of these families were often very different. This edition of Canadian Megatrends takes a look at long-term trends in children's living arrangements in Canada.

This report examines Canadians’ social connections, using the 2013 General Social Survey on Social Identity. Three aspects are examined 1) size of social networks (number and type of social connections), 2) frequency and types of communication, and 3) characteristics of friends. The report ends with a short discussion of the possible impact of social connections on Canadians’ overall quality of life.

This Juristat article profiles cases enrolled with a Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) and examines the characteristics of the cases with regard to the age group of the child beneficiaries. Using data from the Survey of Maintenance Enforcement Programs, it focuses on differences between child support cases involving younger children and those involving older children, the support amounts due and received and the proportion of cases sent out of province. The article also analyzes a cohort of enrolled cases involving children aged 17 and 18 over a five-year period.

These three short articles provide complementary analysis to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) analytical document on immigration and ethnocultural diversity in Canada. They focus on specific topics of interest. The first NHS in Brief is entitled Generation status: Canadian-born children of immigrants, the second, Obtaining Canadian citizenship and the third, Mixed unions in Canada.

Over the last century, Canada experienced many social, economic, legislative, and cultural changes. As a result, the family circumstances and living arrangements of Canadians have evolved substantially. What can the census reveal about the changing diversity of children's living arrangements over time?

This article examines the family structure and living arrangements of Canadian children using census data from 1901 to 2011. Specifically, four eras reflecting major shifts in family living arrangements are considered: the early 20th Century, the Baby Boom, the late 20th Century, and the current millennium to date.

This study uses data from the Census of Population and 2011 General Social Survey in order to examine the conjugal histories and living arrangements for current seniors, defined as individuals aged at least 65, and "future seniors", defined as individuals aged 55 to 64.