EDITOR’S NOTE
IN THIS ISSUE OF MACLEAN’S
Ihad my first kid when I was 31, and the whole experience was overwhelming. I loved being a mom and I loved my job, but juggling them was exhausting. After those first few sleep-deprived years, once I had regained some semblance of control over my life, I was not eager to parent another demanding newborn. I wanted a second kid, just not yet. My career was accelerating, and I enjoyed my life outside the home. So I put off the idea of another one. And then I put it off some more. Finally, six years later, I found the courage—and energy—to have a second child.
Now I can’t imagine my life without Kid No. 2. I’m so glad it worked out. But I can completely understand parents who choose to stop after one. I also get how some families end up in that situation by accident, by delaying a second kid (like I did) or even a first, and then discovering that their fertility window has closed.
These scenarios are happening pretty frequently nowadays. According to the most recent census data, single-child families are now the most common type of households with kids, at 45 per cent, compared with 38 per cent with two kids and 17 per cent with three or more. Birth rates are dropping overall, a phenomenon that tends to happen in a society when women have access to birth control, stay in university longer and obtain power in the workforce. In 2022, Canada hit a record fertility low of 1.33 births per woman. We are simply not replacing the aging population fast enough. And demographic decline presents challenges for our future. A low birth rate means a smaller tax base, fewer young people to look after the country’s seniors and the possibility of a shrinking economy.
Well, then, let’s just turn on the immigration tap. Right?
There is no shortage of people on the planet who are desperate to move to Canada and replenish the population. For now, that’s the government’s strategy and one big reason why Canada is aiming to bring in 1.5 million newcomers by 2026.
But that plan won’t work forever. One of the many fascinating things I learned from Courtney Shea’s cover story on the phenomenon of the one-and-done family (page 30) is that the fertility rate is dropping around the world, too, and Canada can’t rely on an infinite stream of immigrants. As women gain more autonomy in countries like China and South Korea, fertility rates nosedive. China now has a declining fertility rate of just 1.2 kids per woman.
So can Canadian parents be coaxed into having more kids? Shea investigates that question, among others, in her deeply reported story. (Short answer: it’s pretty damn hard.) Her piece is illuminating and entertaining and captures the attitude of a generation whose choices will shape the country for decades to come. sarah fulford
Editor-in-chief, Maclean’s
“In 2022, Canada hit a record fertility low of 1.33 births per woman. We are simply not replacing the aging population fast enough.”