Single Canadians feel forgotten both financially and politically

OTTAWA: Benoit Lavigne has a good job but covering monthly living expenses including rent for a small Ottawa flat is a challenge, largely because he is doing it all on his own. And he wishes Canadian politicians cared more about his lot, instead of wooing families in upcoming October 19 elections.

“All of my married friends seem better off than me, although maybe a bit more sleep-deprived with young children,” the 35-year-old translator told AFP. “I feel like I’m paying for everything myself, while couples with two salaries are getting tax breaks left and right.” Singles make up 28 percent of Canadian households and are among the nation’s fastestgrowing demographics, according to the government statistical agency, while the traditional nuclear family is fading.

But you wouldn’t know it from listening to Canadian politicians. Tracking of Commons debates by Openparliament.ca found nearly 6,000 mentions of “Canadian families” since 1994, with the frequency doubling since the Tories swept to power in 2006. During the campaign, the top three political parties have promised a litany of tax breaks, benefits and programs for families.

Tory proposals include increased tax relief for parents adopting children, while the New Democrats want to bring in a national daycare program and the Liberals have called for longer parental leave. In interviews, several families said these perks will influence their vote. But a recent study by Elections Canada found that parents with children under five are actually less likely to cast their ballots.

Queen’s University professor Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, who studies voting behaviors, said this is because parents of young children are too busy taking care of them. She suggested that the campaign strategy is really aimed at women voters. “While child care and parental leave are obviously things that concern both mothers and fathers, these have traditionally been of greater salience politically to women, and that’s still true today,” Goodyear-Grant said. “Also, nothing suggests responsible and compassionate governance like talking about ‘working families.’” Alone against the world Lavigne has never missed a ballot. “It’s very annoying that my vote doesn’t count much to political parties,” he said. Former Conservative strategist Tim Powers, who is also single, said it’s a numbers game. “If you can get two votes (couples) instead of one, you’re going to do better in an election,” he said. But his comment doesn’t account for those couples with differing political views. A party needs to win 40 percent of the popular vote to form a majority government, and singles as a group fall short. They also have a wide range of views and wants, whereas certain issues such as child care resonate with all families, so it is easier to formulate policies targeting families to win their votes. “I doubt any of the parties have found a way to put enough singles into one group,” Powers said. Where singles live also matters. There are only nine electoral districts-all in major cities-out of 338 where singles account for more than 40 percent of the local population, according to a breakdown of the electoral map by the National Post daily.

In the last census in 2011, Statistics Canada counted 2.7 million married or common-law couples with children under 18, compared to 3.7 million single person households (out of a total of 13 million). Commonlaw and single parent households have increasingly displaced the nuclear family that was dominant in the 1950s, while the proportion of singles has increased fourfold. Most economists agree that broad-based tax cuts are better for the economy. But Powers noted: “Good economic policy is not always good political policy.” Although the data suggests otherwise, many still insist that families need more help than singles. According to government data, the median household income of singles in Canada is Can$31,000 (US$24,000), or a third of the median income of a two-parent household with children under 18.