Statistics Canada
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Women are having more children, but later in life
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Canada’s fertility rate hit a 10-year high in 2006. The average number of children per woman rose to 1.6 from 1.5 in 2005.
Alberta and Quebec accounted for 70% of the national increase in births from 2005. Births were up in every province and territory except Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.
The average age of women giving birth has jumped to 29 years from 27 years in 1996. For the first time, the fertility rate of Canadian women aged 30 to 34 surpassed that of women aged 25 to 29.
For more than 30 years, the total fertility rate has been below the replacement level (which is currently 2.1 children per woman). This means that, on average, Canadian couples are no longer having enough children to replace themselves.
