Canadian Families:

context, patterns, and

dynamics

Canadian Families

Profile of Canadian families

Aboriginals
Migration and Families
Research methods

Main themes

The Influence of Social Structure on Families

Diversity of family forms
Family dynamics
The integration of macro-level and microlevel perspectives

Profile of
contemporary
Canadian families

Are Canadian families becoming

smaller?
In 1961, 16% of Canadian families were made up of six or more

persons, compared with only 2.6% in 2002.

The average size of the Canadian family decreased from 3.9

people in 1961 to 3.0 in 2001, and 2.9 in 2011.

Individuals living alone made up 9% of all households in 1961; by

2001, they accounted for 26%; and by 2011, 27.6%.
(Note the Concept and measurement: average family size
From Statistics Canada, available at http://142.206.72.67/02/02d/02d_001_e.htm
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-312-x/98-312-x2011003_1eng.cfm
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-312-x/98-312-x2011003_1eng.cfm

Distribution (in percentage) of

census families by family
structure, Canada, 1961to2011

http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-312-x/98-312-x2011003_1-eng.cfm

Distribution (in percentage) of private

households by household size,
Canada, 1961 to 2011

http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-312-x/2011003/fig/fig3_1-4-eng.cfm

Do Canadians delay their

marriages?

http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=78#M_2

Are divorce rates going up or

down?
Rates per 100,000

Rates per 100,000

Years

# of divorces

pop.

Married couples

1921

558

6.4

N/A

1941

2,462

21.4

N/A

1961

6,563

36

N/A

1968*

11,343

54.8

N/A

1969

26,093

124.2

N/A

1981

67,671

271.8

1,174.40

1985**

61,980

253.6

1,103.30

1986

78,304

298.8

1,301.60

1987***

96,200

362.3

1,585.50

1990

80,998

295.8

1,311.50

1994

78,880

269.7

1,246.30

1995

77,636

262.2

1,221.90

* Reform of Divorce Laws ** Divorce Act ("no fault") *** Peak year

The 1968 Act widened the reasons for divorce from adultery to include mental or physical
cruelty, desertion, separation for three years or having an imprisoned spouse.

Are divorce rates going up or

down?

How many births per 1,000

women aged 15-49 in Canada?

Is the percentage of elderly

population increasing or
declining?

How about living arrangements

of seniors?

Same sex couples

Following the legalization of same-sex

marriage in Canada in July 2005, the 2006
Census enumerated same-sex married
couples for the first time.

The census counted 45,300 same-sex

couples, making up 0.6% of all couples in
Canada. Among that 45,300, 17% were
same-sex married couples.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2008000/pdf/families-famillies-eng.pdf

Same sex couples

Although still few, the number of same-sex couples

has increased five times faster than the number of
opposite-sex couples. From 2001 to 2006, the
number of same-sex couples grew 33%, whereas
the number of opposite-sex couples grew 6%.

The 2011 Census counted 64,575 same-sex

couple families, up 42.4% from 2006. Of these
couples, 21,015 were same-sex married
couples and 43,560 were same-sex common-law
couples.

Intact families and step

The 2011 Census counted stepfamilies for the first time. Of
families
the 3,684,675 couples with children, 87.4% were intact
familiesthat is, they were comprised of two parents and
their biological or adopted children and 12.6% were
stepfamilies.

In 2011, 7.4% of couples with children were simple

stepfamilies, in which all children were the biological or
adopted children of ONE and only one married spouse or
common-law partner. An additional 5.2% of couples with
children were complex stepfamilies, most of which were
comprised of at least one child of both parents as well as at
least one child of one parent only.
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-312-x/98-312-x2011001-eng.cfm

Census families, 1921 to

2006

Flash presentation by Statistics Canada

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/an
alysis/famhouse/vignettes/families.html

Aboriginal peoples in
Canada

A brief portrait of Aboriginal

Peoples in Canada, 2011
National Household Survey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5jlyiHxNo4

(3 minutes 21 seconds)

Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Province/Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador

Number

% of population

% of national
aboriginal
population

23,450

1,730

0.1

Nova Scotia

24,175

New Brunswick

17,655

Quebec

108,430

Ontario

242,495

21

Manitoba

175,395

15

15

Saskatchewan

141,890

15

12

Alberta

188,365

16

British Columbia

196,075

17

7,580

25

0.6

Northwest Territories

20,635

50

Nunavut

24,920

85

Canada

1,172,790

100

Prince Edward Island

Yukon Territory

Source: 2006 Census[1], [2]

Growth of Aboriginal origins

http://www.vifamily.ca/library/cft/aboriginal.html

Diversity of first nation

families

In First Nations communities more emphasis

is placed on large multigenerational families
than on nuclear families. How this is manifest
in each First Nations community varies
greatly. Some First Nations, such as the
Tsimshian emphasize the matrilineal line.
Others, such as the Mi'kmaqs, reckon
descent bilaterally. Still others highlight the
importance of the patrilineal line.

http://family.jrank.org/pages/199/Canada-First-Nations-Families.html

Diversity of first nation

families
Plains Cree:

Nomadic
Patriarchal and patrilineal
band of families with a mail chief (80 to 250
persons)
Communal hunting
Informal councils composed of male members
Gendered division of labour (production and
reproduction)

Diversity of first nation

families
Iroquois

Quebec to southern Ontario and norther New York

state
Intensive agriculture by the beginning of 14th century
Matrilocal and matrilineal (a man moved in with his
wifes family)
All clan members responsible for childrearing
Women possessd clan land
Women chose the male leaders and were consulted
on matters of war

Impact of colonization on
indigenous families

Colonizers intentionally undermined the

strength and vitality of indigenous families
through polices ranging from direct genocide,
to forced assimilation in residential schools,
to child apprehension policies of the 1960s
and 1970s in which indigenous children were
taken from their home communities and
raised in nonaboriginal foster homes, "for
their own good."

http://family.jrank.org/pages/199/Canada-First-Nations-Families.html

A Lost Heritage: Canada's

Residential Schools

In 1928, a government official predicted Canada

would end its "Indian problem" within two
generations. Church-run, government-funded
residential schools for native children were
supposed to prepare them for life in white society.
But the aims of assimilation meant devastation for
those who were subjected to physical, sexual and
emotional abuse. Decades later, aboriginal people
began to share their stories and demand
acknowledgement of and compensation for
their stolen childhoods.

http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/ accessed January 13, 2010

Residential schools (video

clips)

Canadian Residential School Propaganda

Video 1955

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_V4d7sXoqU

Residential School Survivors Set To Detail Abuse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VirdmvVAbIc

Residential Schools Apology / Excuses pensionnats

indiens (see 2:453:45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo5cG-RjE8Y

Migration and the

Family

Immigration flows to Canada,

1867-2005

http://focus-migration.hwwi.de/Canada.1275.0.html?&L=1

Transnational families

families that live some or most of the time

separated from each other, yet hold together
and create something that can be seen as a
feeling of collective welfare and unity, namely
familyhood, even across national borders
(Bryceson and Vuorela 2002:3).

Military nuclear families as

transnational families

They are transnational in the temporary

sense whereby one member of the family
may be stationed overseas or undergoing
training while the other member stays home
with the children.

Couples living apart together

(LAT) as transnational

families
These types of relationships involve couples
who maintain separate households and may
or may not be married. Research indicates
that individuals who choose this lifestyle have
less traditional ideas about the importance of
maintaining long-term relationships than do
married or cohabiting persons.

Childrens Experiences of
Living in Transnational

Children living with mothers in Zimbabwe

Families

when fathers work in gold mines in South

Africa;

Chinese children living with mothers while

fathers run their businesses in China

Children and Power in Mexican Transnational

Families
byDreby, Joanna Journal of Marriage and Family,
ISSN
0022-2445, 11/2007, Volume 69, Issue 4, pp.
Abstract
1050
- 1064

Today, many families find that they are unable to fulfill the goal of
maintaining a household by living together under the same roof.
Some members migrate internationally. This article addresses the
consequences of a transnational lifestyle for children who are left
behind by migrant parents. Using ethnographic fieldwork and
interviews with a total of 141 members of Mexican transnational
families, I explore how children who are left behind react to parents'
migrations. I focus on how Mexican children manifest the competing
pressures they feel surrounding parents' migrations and
consequently shape family migration patterns. The article shows
that children may experience power, albeit in different ways at
different ages, while simultaneously being disadvantaged as
dependents and in terms of their families' socioeconomic status.

Visible Minorities in Canada: Comparing 1901 with

2001
Stella Park and Charles Jones
Department of Sociology
University of Toronto.

Research Questions
1) How has the age/sex structure of Aboriginal and various
visible minority groups in Canada changed over time?
2) How were the Aboriginal and visible minority indicators
defined in the 1901 and 2001 Censuses?
3) What was the religious composition of various colour
groups in 1901 and visible minority groups in 2001?

Colour indicator (1901 Census)

The races of men will be designated by the use of w for
white, r for red, b for black, and y for yellow. The
whites are, of course, the Caucasian race, the reds are
the American Indian, the blacks are the African or negro,
and the yellows are the Mongolian (Japanese and
Chinese). But only pure whites will be classed as whites;
the children begotten of marriages between whites and
any one of the other races will be classed as red, black or
yellow, as the case may be, irrespective of degrees of
colour [sic] (1901 Census: Instruction to Enumerators)
Visible Minority and Aboriginal indicator (2001
Census)
The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as
"persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are nonCaucasian in race or non-white in colour". The visible
minority population includes the following groups:
Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American,
Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Japanese, Korean and
Pacific Islander. The long form census schedule (20%
sample) asks non-Aboriginal respondents to self-identify
as members of visible minority groups. Aboriginal origin is
determined from responses to other questions.
Method
Data source: 1901 Census (Canadian Families Project)
and 2001 Census Public Use Microdata File on Individuals
Sample from the 1901 Census (every individual who
lived in a 5% random sample of dwellings): 2001 Census
(PUMF)
Analysis done using SPSS (1901-unweighted counts;
2001-weighted counts)
Historical comparability (must consider geo-political
boundary differences of two periods)

Findings
The 1901 Census data show a society with high fertility and
mortality rates among most colour groups (except among the
Yellow group, where the uneven sex distribution) reflects
Canadas immigration policy at the time.
The 2001 Census data show a society with more equal
distributions of men and women, except among the aged, where
women are more numerous.
There was little religious diversity in Canada at 1901. Protestants
were the dominant religious group, followed by Catholics. The
Yellow group was exceptional in having a high percentage of
Buddhists. In contrast, the 2001 Census shows much greater
diversity in religious affiliation. Catholics dominate in most visible
minority groups. Protestants are preponderant in the Black
visible minority group.
The percentage of those who identify as having no religious
affiliation is much greater in the 2001 Census than in the
20011901
Canada
Census.

* For any questions, please e-mail Stella Park,

yhstella.park@utoronto.ca

Family research
methods

Methods

Methods are the means or tools utilized to

answer researchers questions or obtain
information

Methods

Quantitative method

Qualitative Method

Sampling survey (random and non-random samples)

Census
In-depth interview
Focus group discussion
Participant observation

Mixed methods

Experiments

Natural experiments

e.g., introduction of the Internet in the homes

Earthquake

Laboratory experiments (observations,

questionnaires, interviews)

The experimental group that is given a specific stimulus such as the

possibility to watch a violent or an erotic video; also needed is a control
group similar to the other one which does not receive the stimulus or the
treatment in medical research.

Writing family history

PBS Series: Ancestors

The companion web site to the PBS family

history and genealogy television series.
http://www.byub.org/ancestors/

GenoPro

GenoPro is a genealogy software

for drawing family trees. The software can
display a complete graphical representation
of your genealogy tree.

http://www.genopro.com/family-tree-software/

http://www.genopro.com/genogram/templates/

Students autobiographes

What made you the most happy?

What above all else made you unhappy?
Education, work, relationship with parents,
grandparents, and siblings