Canada’s fertility rate has fallen to a historic low, reflecting deep shifts in how and when women form families. In 2024, the total fertility rate dropped to 1.25 children per woman, placing Canada among countries with ultra-low fertility.
Delayed childbearing remains a central factor. The average age of mothers at first birth climbed to a record 31.8 years in 2024. At the same time, a growing share of women are reaching the end of their childbearing years without having children at all. Among women aged 50 and older, the proportion without children rose to 17.4% in 2022, up from 14.1% in 1990.
By midlife, childlessness is no longer a marginal outcome. In 2024, more than half of women aged 20 to 49 had no children, including nearly nine in ten women in their 20s and close to one in four women in their 40s. These figures point to both delayed family formation and permanent changes in life trajectories.
Education and employment play a clear role. University-educated women were more likely to be without children than those without a degree, particularly in their 30s. Among women aged 30 to 39, nearly half of university graduates had no children, compared with just over one-third of those without a university education. Career priorities and extended time spent in education continue to push motherhood to later ages.
Employment status also matters. Employed women, especially those under 40, were more likely to have no children than unemployed women. This pattern highlights ongoing tensions between work and family life, including challenges related to child care costs, availability and unequal household responsibilities.
Relationship status remains one of the strongest predictors of motherhood. Married women were far more likely to have children than women in common-law relationships or those living apart from a partner. Across all age groups, women who had never been part of a couple were overwhelmingly without children, reinforcing how closely childbearing decisions remain tied to partnership stability.
Cultural and social factors also shape outcomes. Women who actively practised a religion were more likely to have children than non-practising women, particularly after age 30. Immigration status mattered as well, with landed immigrant women more likely to be mothers than Canadian-born women, reflecting the growing contribution of immigrants to Canada’s birth count.
Differences were also evident across racialized groups. West Asian and Chinese women were the least likely to have children, while Arab and Latin American women were the most likely. Compared with non-racialized women, only Chinese and Arab women showed statistically significant differences in childbearing patterns.
Intentions, however, tell a more complex story. Slightly more than half of women without children said they would like to have children at some point, though this share declined sharply with age. Two-thirds of childless women in their 20s expressed a desire to become mothers, compared with fewer than half in their 30s and just over one in ten in their 40s.
Among women in their 30s, those with university degrees were more likely to want children than those without, suggesting that many highly educated women view delayed motherhood as temporary rather than a permanent choice. By contrast, lower fertility intentions among less educated women may reflect financial constraints rather than timing decisions.
The gap between wanting children and having them remains wide. Structural factors such as education pathways, job demands, relationship patterns and migration continue to shape family outcomes, often limiting the ability to follow through on plans.
As fertility rates fall and family models diversify, the data point to pressures that extend beyond individual choice. Without changes that make it easier to balance work, partnership and parenthood, ultra-low fertility is likely to remain a defining feature of Canada’s demographic landscape.