 | Various Views of Divorce & Marriage Rates in Canada
Marriage and Divorce Rates in Canada (1967-1995)
from SELECTED STATISTICS ON CANADIAN FAMILIES AND FAMILY LAW — November 1997, Department of Justice Canada
Table 1 Number and Rates of Divorces and Marriages -- Selected Years, CanadaNote: If you know of data that can be used to augment the table, please let me know. Walter H. Schneider < > Number of Divorces
(per 100,000 Pop.) | Marriages
(per 100,000 Pop.) | | Year | DoJ1 | StatCan2 | DoJ1 | 3 | StatCan5 | 3 | | 1968 | 11,343 | | 54.8 | 56.7 | | | | 1970 | 29,775 | | 139.8 | 148.8 | | | | 1980 | 62,019 | | 259.19 | 263.7 | | | | 1987 | 90,985 | | 355.1 | 347.2 | | | | 1991 | 77,020 | | 273.9 | 274.0 | | | | 1992 | | 79,034 | | 281.1 | | | | 1993 | | 78,226 | | 278.3 | 159,316 | 566.7 | | 1994 | | 78,880 | | 280.6 | 159,959 | 569.0 | | 1995 | 77,636 | 77,636 | 262.2 | 276.2 | 160,251 | 570.1 | | 1996 | | 71,528 | 238.8 | | 158,680 | 529.7 | | 1997 | | 67,4084 | 224.74 | | 159,350 | 531.9 | | 1998 | | 80,9984 | 295.84 | | | |
1) Source: The Department of Justice, Child Support Initiative, Evaluation Report, August 1997 --Table 1
2) Source: Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/People/Families/famil02.htm
3) Based on Canadian population figures at end of the prior census period Canadian Population figures 1961 - 1966 20,015,000
1966 - 1971 21,568,000
1971 - 1976 23,518,000
1976 - 1981 24,900,000
1981 - 1986 26,204,000
1986 - 1991 28,111,000
1991 - 1996 29,959,000
Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca:80/english/Pgdb/People/Population/demo03.htm 4) StatCan "The Daily" for: 2000-09-28
5) Source: Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/People/Families/famil04.htm Remarks: The figures on marriages in any of the years from 1993 to 1997 are not increasing with the rate of increase in the Canadian population. It appears that roughly one marriage each year ends up in divorce for every two marriages made. However, don't forget that for many, divorces and marriages are repetitions.
There are many marriages that last a considerable number of years. There are also many marriages that last only a few months, after which the unfortunate ex-husband faces a life-time of paying for something he doesn't have anymore, the family of his dreams, his life's aspirations. That is especially true if he is the father of one or more children which he'll seldom or often never get to see anymore. In the time after one year after separation or divorce, 50% of children of divorced or separated families never see their fathers again. But, pay the fathers must, with ex-wives and children from prior marriages or unions of any kind taking precedence over the financial requirements of any and all of the ex-husband's future family circumstances. One in five Canadian children don't have a father in their life on a regular and equitable basis.
The liabilities that arise out of previous marriages or paternity make men who are saddled with them poor prospects for future marriages. Those liabilities and the costs of litigation to divorced or separated fathers over child support variations, access rights to their children and false allegations of sexual abuse place second marriages under enormous stress. It should therefore be no surprise to anyone that whereas first marriages have about a fifty percent risk of ending in divorce (55% in the US), that risk becomes greater with each successive marriage (in the US, about 72% for second, and about 85% for third marriages. Canadian figures on this aren't available). Almost 75% of Canadian divorces are being initiated by women. An overview of social and economic indicators: Does Moral Decline Equal Economic Decline? Back to Divorce Issues: Main Page
___________
Updates:
1999 06 04
2000 09 28 (showed StatCan divorce statistics for 1997, 1998)
2000 12 14 (to add graph for marriage- and divorce rates)
2001 01 29 (format changes)
2001 12 13 (reformatted Table 1)
2002 03 05 (added link to Table of Contents) |
