OTTAWA, ON – Cardus is calling on the federal government to adopt a cohesive, consistent, strategic approach to family policy on a national level. In Envisioning a Federal Family-Formation Policy Framework for Canada, author Peter Jon Mitchell notes that leaders from all parties need to begin by acknowledging and addressing the real challenges Canadian families face:

Census data show that Canadian families are shrinking and more Canadians are living alone.
The average age at first marriage is increasing, as is the average age for bearing children.
The national fertility rate hit a historic low of 1.4 in 2020, well below replacement level as half of Canadian women are having fewer children than they desire through their lifetimes.