Articles and Blog Posts

Vanier Institute articles explore the diversity and complexity of families and the reality of family life in Canada with contributions from people who study, serve and support families, as well as people with lived experience. Produced in English and French since 1970, our articles provide information, insights and inspiration to our diverse readership, which includes researchers, educators, students, journalists, family service workers, policy-makers and more.

Archived articles are available upon request.

Visit the COVID-19 Impacts: Families in Canada page for all publications and content related to the pandemic.

2020

• Vanier Institute and Brock University Explore Impact of Family Policies

• Getting to Know My Great-Grandfather Through Family Archives, Gaby Novoa

• Grand-Families Highlight Family Adaptability

• Diblings Asking “Who Am I?” – Searching for Answers, Finding More Questions, Sara MacNaull and Nora Spinks

• International Youth Day 2020: Youth Engagement and Volunteering in Canada

• Vanier Institute Joins UN Expert Group Meeting on Families in Development

• In Conversation: Lucy Gallo on Chosen Family Day and LGBTQI2S Youth, Nathan Battams

• In Conversation: Rachel Margolis on Divorce Trends in Canada (PDF), Nathan Battams

• In Focus 2020: Caregiving to Older Canadians

• In Focus 2020: Caregiving and Care Receiving in Canada

• In Focus 2020: Caregiver Support in Canada

• 2020 Federal Tax Changes Regarding Separation/Divorce, RRSPs and Homeownership

2019

• Work, Care and the Carer-Inclusive and Accommodating Organizations (CIAO) Standard (PDF), Emily Beckett

• In Conversation with Lisa Wolff, Director, Policy and Research, UNICEF Canada (PDF), Nathan Battams

• “Virtual Parenting” After Separation and Divorce (PDF), Rachel Birnbaum, PhD, RSW, LLM

• Resource Roundup: Family Caregiving in Canada (October 2019), Emily Beckett and Nathan Battams

• In Focus 2019: Fathers “Making It Work”

• Webinar Content: Understanding the Parental Sharing Benefit and the Caregiving Benefits

• Mother’s Day 2019: New Moms Older, More Likely to Be Employed Than in the Past

• In Focus 2019: Coupling, Uncoupling and Marital Status

• The Right Honourable David Johnston and Mrs. Sharon Johnston – #FAM2019 Welcome Message

• New Resource for Early Learning and Child Care Professionals and Practitioners Working with Canadian Military and Veteran Families

• Anil Arora – #FAM2019 Keynote Address

• Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos – #FAM2019 Opening Remarks

• Reflections on the Families in Canada Conference 2019

• In Focus 2019: Long-lasting Relationships in Canada

• In Focus 2019: Living Alone in Canada

• In Focus 2019: Couples Living Apart in Canada

• In Focus 2019: Adults Living with Parents

• In Focus 2019: Grandparents in Canada

• Review: Co-Parenting from the Inside Out: Voices of Moms and Dads, Sara MacNaull

• Vanier Institute Welcomes New Appointments to Board of Directors

• Annual Report 2018–2019 Now Available!

• Modern Family Finances: Military and Veteran Families in Canada

• Dr. Valerie Wood Receives the 2019 Military and Veteran Family Health Research Award

• Facts and Stats: Maternal Mental Health in Canada

• Facts and Stats: Working Seniors in Canada (2019 Update)

• In Focus 2019: Food Insecurity in Canada

• On This Day: Vanier Institute Founder Georges P. Vanier Becomes Governor General

• Report: Symposium on Women and the Workplace

• The Impact of Post-Traumatic Stress on Canadian Armed Forces, First Responders and Their Families

• Facts and Stats: House, Home and Family Finances (2019 Update)

• FAM2019 Conference Report now available!

• Statistics Canada Receives 2019 Mirabelli-Glossop Award

• Vanier CEO Nora Spinks Appointed to Expert Panel on Early Learning and Child Care Data and Research

• A Snapshot of Grandparents in Canada (May 2019 Update)

2018

• What’s in a Name? Defining Family in a Diverse Society (PDF), Alan Mirabelli

• Work and Family: The Impact of Mobility, Scheduling and Precariousness (PDF), Elise Thorburn, PhD (Memorial University)

• Institutionally “Chosen Families”: Supportive or Counterproductive? (PDF), Chloe Brown

• Lived Experiences: Ethnic Women as Full Participants in Canada, Emily Beckett

• Facing Death: Emerging Trends in Death and Dying in Canada, Emily Beckett

• International Day of Families 2018 Focuses on Families and Inclusive Societies

• Modern Mothers in Canada “Making It Work”

• Death Becoming Less Taboo, but Many Families Avoid Talking About End-of-Life Care

• Alan Mirabelli: Hub Hospice and the Palliative Care Experience

• In Focus: Senior Caregivers in Canada

• Families in Canada: Parents Making It Work

• On the Move: Project Update (January 2018)

2017

• Modern Motherhood: The Unique Experiences of Women with Physical Disabilities, Lesley A. Tarasoff

• Family Finances: Investments in Education, Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy and Nathan Battams

• Health Care Experiences of Military Families of Children with Autism (PDF), Heidi Cramm, PhD

• Sharing a Roof: Multi-generational Homes in Canada (2016 Census Update) (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Grandparent Health and Family Well-Being (PDF), Rachel Margolis, PhD

• In Context: Understanding Maternity Care in Canada (PDF)

• Employment Mobility and Family Gentrification in Montreal (PDF), Steven High, Lysiane Goulet Gervais, Michelle Duchesneau and Dany Guay‑Bélanger

• Polyamory in Canada: Research on an Emerging Family Structure (PDF), John-Paul Boyd, M.A., LL.B.

• Lived Experience: Understanding Families Affected by Incarceration (PDF), Farhat Rehman

• Supporting the Health of Mothers and Their Babies in the Context of Incarceration (PDF), Dr. Ruth Elwood Martin and Brenda Tole

• Circuits of Care: Mobility, Work and Managing Family Relationships, Dr. Sara Dorow and Shingirai Mandizadza, PhDc

2016

• House and Home: To Keep or Not to Keep the Living Room and Dining Room, Avi Friedman

• New Resource for Family Physicians Working with Canadian Military Families

• A Snapshot of Military and Veteran Families in Canada (PDF)

• Happy 25th Anniversary to the Military Family Services Program!

• Building Resilience at Home with Distance Coaching

• A Snapshot of Grandparents in Canada

• House and Home in Canada (2016 Update)

• Understanding the Impact of Fort McMurray Wildfires on Foreign National Family Caregivers

• Modern Fathers Reshaping the Work–Family Relationship, Nathan Battams

• Intergenerational Relations and Societal Change, Donna S. Lero, PhD

• Public Policy Brief – Flex: From a Privilege to a Right (PDF), Sara MacNaull

• Building Inclusive Communities for Canada’s Military and Veteran Families, Col (ret) Russell Mann, OMM, MSM, MBA, CD

• Timeline: Fifty Years of Women, Work and Family in Canada (PDF)

• Language, Labels and “Lone Parents”, Victoria Bailey

• Review: The Importance of Being Little by Erika Christakis (review by Monique Velisovsky)

• It’s Time to Care for Our (Young) Carers, Andrea Breen, PhD

• My Caregiving Journey, Katherine Arnup, PhD

• Twitter Chat: Military Families in Transition to Civilian Life

• Human Rights Perspectives: Emerging Issues and Workplace Impacts

• Work–Family Conflict Among Single Parents in the Canadian Armed Forces (PDF), Alla Skomorovsky, PhD

• Flex at Work Benchmarking Initiative, Sara MacNaull and Nora Spinks

• Public Policy Brief: Compassionate Care Benefits

• Family Caregiving in Canada: A Fact of Life and a Human Right (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Vanier Institute CEO Nora Spinks to Deliver 2016 Harshman Lecture

• Supporting Canada’s Military and Veteran Families

• Community and Business Leaders Making a Difference for Canadian Military Families

• The Current State of Military Family Research (PDF), Heidi Cramm, Deborah Norris, Linna Tam-Seto, Maya Eichler and Kimberley Smith‑Evans

2015 and Older

• 50 Years of Understanding Families in Canada (PDF), Nora Spinks

• Sleep and Families (PDF), Dr. David B. Posen, M.D.

• OFF THE VANIER BOOKSHELF: Family Futures (UNDESA-DSPD) (PDF), Sara MacNaull

• (Still) Eating Together: The Culture of the Family Meal (PDF), Paul Fieldhouse

• No Longer Just “Child’s Play”: Electronic Gaming in Canada (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Beyond the “Ideal”: Beryl Plumptre and the Vanier Institute’s Definition of “Family” (PDF), Alan Mirabelli

• General The Right Honourable Georges P. Vanier: A Life of Devotion (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Family Insights Over the Years (PDF)

• Family Is… (PDF), Sara MacNaull

• Reflections on the Families in Canada Conference 2015 (PDF), Nora Spinks

• Collaborative Settlement: Resolving Disputes After Separation or Divorce (PDF), John-Paul Boyd, M.A., LL.B.

• OFF THE VANIER BOOKSHELF: Parenting Through the Storm (Ann Douglas) (PDF), Cindy Graham

• Strength in Diversity: Positive Impacts of Children with Disabilities (PDF), Michelle R. Lodewyks

• Respect, Reconciliation and Resilience: Phil Fontaine and Archbishop Weisgerber in Conversation (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Modern Maternity Care in Canada (PDF), Cecilia Benoit

• External Report: “Live-in Caregivers in Fort McMurray: A Socioeconomic Footprint”

• Lone Mothers and Their Families in Canada: Diverse, Resilient and Strong

• Dads Play a Greater Role at Home: Family Life Benefits, Nathan Battams

• Governor General David Johnston at the Families in Canada Conference 2015

• Family Finances: Investments in Education, Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy

• Respect, Reconciliation, Resilience: Phil Fontaine and Archbishop James Weisgerber in Conversation

• Andrew Solomon – Diversity, Difference, Disability and Families

• Caring Enough to Flex, Flexing Enough to Care (PDF), Sara MacNaull

• Sharing a Roof: Multi-generational Homes in Canada (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Financial Literacy Across Generations

• Putting the “F” in EFAP: The Evolution of Workplace Mental Health Supports (PDF), Craig Thompson

• To Share or Not to Share: Online Privacy and Publicity Among Canadian Youth (PDF), Matthew Johnson

• Modern Caregiving in Canada (PDF), Janet E. Fast, PhD, and Donna S. Lero, PhD

• Modern Fatherhood: Paternal Involvement and Family Relationships (PDF), Ian DeGeer, Humberto Carolo and Todd Minerson

• The Health Care Experiences of LGBTQ+ Seniors, Laura Zuccaro

• Modern Money Management (PDF), Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy

• Ageism and the Experience of Health Care (PDF), Nathan Battams

• OFF THE VANIER BOOKSHELF: The Healing Journey: Intimate Partner Abuse and Its Implications in the Labour Market (Linda DeRiviere) (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Dividing Matrimonial Property: Common-Law Partners Still Excluded from Property Laws (PDF), Rollie Thompson

• Strengthening Ties Through Technology (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Young Carers Gaining Visibility in Canada (PDF), Vass Bednar

• When Cupboards Are Bare: Food Insecurity and Public Health (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Connected, Mobile and Social: The Online Lives of Canadian Youth (PDF), Matthew Johnson

• OFF THE VANIER BOOKSHELF: Valuing Children: Rethinking the Economics of the Family (Nancy Folbre) (PDF), Nathan Battams

• Celebrating Ian: A Unique Parenting Experience (PDF), Ann Douglas

• OFF THE VANIER BOOKSHELF: Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity (Andrew Solomon) (PDF), Nathan Battams