Mr. Speaker, a couple of years ago, an Angus Reid survey for Cardus asked families about the number of children they wanted. The Canadian women surveyed wanted, on average, 2.2 children, coincidentally right around the replacement level. After that survey, the actual fertility rate in Canada hit an all-time low of 1.26 children, which means there is a gap between the desire and the outcome of almost one child per woman. For the first 15 years of this century, fertility rates in Canada held steady between about 1.5 and 1.6 births per woman but have dropped precipitously since 2015. The Angus Reid data confirms that people did not just become less interested in children after 2015. Financial concerns played a major role in their decision to have fewer children than desired.
It seems unsurprising that policies that put jobs and homes out of reach are forcing delayed family formation and leading to fewer kids. One of the many consequences of lower fertility rates is greater loneliness for seniors who do not have the same human contact with the shrinking next generation. A shifting population age distribution also makes social programs for the elderly harder to sustain.
All of us need to work together to rebuild an economy where it is easier for people to have kids.