Family Matters: Grandparents in Canada

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Release date: February 7, 2019
Family Matters: Grandparents in Canada
Family Matters: Grandparents in Canada

Family Matters: Grandparents in Canada

7.5 million (47%) Canadians aged 45 and over are grandparents

Grandmothers outnumber grandfathers

Canadians aged 45 that are grandparents
  Percentage of Canadian 45 and over (%) Number (millions)
Grandfathers 44 3.3
Grandmothers 56 4.2

The proportion of grandparents aged 85 and over has more than doubled between 1995 and 2017

Percentage of grandparents, 1995 and 2017
Age Cohorts Percentage of Grandparents
1995 2017
45-54 19.14 9.28
55-64 31.97 29.92
65-74 31.07 33.72
75-85 14.66 19.44
85+ 3.16 7.64

21% of grandparents were born outside of Canada

The average age of grandparents has risen from 64 years in 1995 to 68 years in 2017

The average age for first-time grandparents was 52 in 2017

Grandparents in Canada have an average of 4 grandchildren

5% of grandparents live with at least one grandchild

At 63 years old, Indigenous grandparents are younger than the average grandparent in Canada

Note: Population includes Canadians 45 and over.

Source: General Social Survey (Families) 1995 and 2017.

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