Ottawa-Canada first began collecting birth-rate figures in 1921; the rate then was 29.3 births (per thousand of population). The latest figures from Stats Canada (April 19, of 2004) 10.5 show barely one-third of that rate in 2002; this is an all-time low.

Related fertility statistics predict that Canadian women, aged 15-49, will have 1.5 children in their lifetime, a dip of .01 from 2001. Birth figures declined in all provinces except Alberta and Nunavut. The Nunavut figures, however, present a separate concern as 69% of babies born there were to unmarried women (see below).

Demographers attribute the lower birth numbers to factors such as women being more highly educated, and therefore being too involved in their careers to consider having children. Those who do "stop" for children are mostly older and have time only for one or two children; more would not only be a financial burden but would disrupt their lifestyle. Behind these reasons stand the real causes: sterilization, contraception and the easy accessibility of abortion, never mentioned by the Bureau of Statistics or the media (C.I. addressed these issues in the March 2004 edition, "Why Lent is necessary", p. 3).

Regarding single-mother births, Nunavut runs ahead of Quebec, where 55.3% of babies were born to unmarried women. Marriage has been out of fashion in Quebec for quite some time, and in 2001 its marriage rate fell 11.8%. That year, the latest for which figures are available (Lifesite News, November 21,2003), showed a sharp 6.8% decline nationwide. A total of 146,618 marriages were concluded, down from 157,395 in 2000. Declining numbers were noted in all provinces except N.W.T. and Nunavut.

Comment

Academics and media seem as yet little perturbed by the statistics. David Foot, author of the book Boom, Bust and Echo, thinks that Canada's "substantial immigration policy" will compensate for the baby-deficit. Perhaps he has not studied other recent figures demonstrating that immigrant women, once involved in the Canadian way of life, also tend to imitate Canadian reproductive patterns (Lifesite News, Nov. 21, 2003).

Prof. Donna Stewart of the University of Toronto sees the low birth rate as a "positive thing." Women "are having the number of babies they want to have," she declared (National Post, April 20, 2004).

While radio and TV outlets continue to chant vacuous mantras about "choice," the only people showing concern are toy manufacturers, those faced with implementing school closures, and those involved with the future of pension plans which face declining contributions and accelerating expenditures.

Also, the same-sex "marriage" syndrome, if it prevails, will bring about a further weakening of marriage as a social institution as it has already done in Scandinavia (Files from Lifesite News, Globe, Star, National Post).