As families across Canada gather this weekend to celebrate Family Day, 1.9 million adults won’t need to travel far to see their moms and dads, according to Statistics Canada. Data released today from the 2017 General Social Survey show that 9% of Canadians aged 25 to 64 live with at least one parent, and this figure is on the rise.
“There are many reasons why adults may choose to remain in the parental home or to move in as adults after living apart,” says Vanier Institute of the Family CEO Nora Spinks. “They may want a larger home that is only affordable with combined incomes, or the adult may want to reduce expenditures while attending school, provide care to a parent, receive help caring for their own children or simply be fulfilling cultural expectations that elders will be cared for by their younger generations. Regardless, research shows that choice, circumstance and culture all play a role in this rising trend.”
The proportion of adults in Canada living with their parents is growing
- In 2017, 9%, of the adult population in Canada aged 25 to 64 (1.9M) were living with one or more of their parents, up from 5% in 1995.1
Most adults living with parents are employed and/or going to school
- In 2017, 74% of adults aged 25 to 64 living with a parent were employed in the week prior to the survey, compared with 80% of those not living with a parent.2
- In 2017, 12% of adults aged 25 to 64 who lived with their parents were attending school, vs. 5% of those who did not live with their parents.3
Multi-generational households are on the rise
- Data from the 2016 Census shows that there were nearly 404,000 multi-generational households (3+ generations living together) in Canada – up 38% since 2001 and the fastest-growing household type during this period.4
Culture plays a role in family living arrangements
- In 2017, approximately 1 in 5 South Asians and Chinese aged 25 to 64 (21% and 19%, respectively) lived with at least one of their parents that year – more than double the share of the total population of Canada in this age group living with parents (9%).5
Many of the topics covered in GSS, as well as data from this survey, will be explored at the Families in Canada Conference 2019 on March 27 and 28, 2019 – a national, pan-Canadian event hosted by the Vanier Institute of the Family where organizations that study, serve and support families will gather for two days of knowledge-sharing and catalytic conversation. REGISTER TODAY!
Published on February 15, 2019
Notes
- Statistics Canada, “Family Matters: Adults Living with Their Parents,” The Daily (February 15, 2019). Link: https://bit.ly/2UZCc08.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Statistics Canada, “Families, Households and Marital Status: Key Results from the 2016 Census,” The Daily (August 2, 2017). Link: https://bit.ly/2Kivygl.
- Statistics Canada, “Family Matters: Adults Living with Their Parents.”
