Two in three who plan to remain childless said it just wasn't for them, survey finds

The results of a new survey from the Angus Reid Institute show that only about one in five childless adults under the age of 50 are confident they will have children in the future.

The survey of 1,300 Canadians found that 21 percent of respondents had definite plans to have children, while another third (32 percent) said they might. On the other hand, 37% of the respondents stated that they are sure they will not have children.

Among the groups who said "yes" or "maybe" to having children, about half said they had delayed their decision. 40% of this group stated that they have not yet found their right partner, 41% cited financial problems or job instability as the reason for the delay, and about a third cited cost and access to childcare and the affordable housing crisis as the main factors.

Financial concerns were also common among those who chose not to have children; A quarter of them mentioned the cost of childcare, and 18% doubted that they would be able to find a suitable home for a family.

However, the most common reason for not having children was lack of interest; So that two out of three people who have decided not to have children said that this issue is not attractive to them.

Reducing the birth rate to its lowest level
The report also notes that last year, Canada experienced the lowest birth rate for the second year in a row, with an average of 1.26 children per woman in 2023 and an average of 1.33 children per woman in 2022.

The increase in the elderly population was another issue that the new statistics pointed out; So that the population of people over 65 years old in Canada is growing six times faster than people under 15 years old.

Survey respondents were divided on whether the declining birth rate constituted a crisis; 43% of them believed that this situation is a crisis, while 42% were against this opinion.

 Suggested solutions
As for possible solutions, 42 percent of participants agreed with the statement that "if we can't nationalize childcare, our birth rate will drop even more." But a similar percentage, 44 percent, believed that "governments will never be able to make childcare affordable."

Also, about half of the respondents agreed that it is not their responsibility to finance the care of other people's children. This opinion was more common among parents of older children (59 percent) and supporters of the Conservative Party (74 percent).

 Methodology
The online survey was conducted between September 12 and 18, 2024, and included a random and representative sample of 4,063 Canadian adults. The Angus Reid Institute stated that a sample size of these dimensions has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent 19 out of 20 times. The number of parents with children between the ages of zero and six has also increased to ensure we get more relevant answers about childcare.

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