Family

The federal government should adopt a cohesive, consistent, strategic approach to family policy on a national level. This approach to family policy would include both increasing opportunities and reducing barriers for Canadians who desire to form partnerships and marriages, and to raise children.

For decades, the proportion of children with married parents has been dropping. But that drop has now stabilised. Since 2016, we’ve seen a steady six in 10 children in Canada live in married-parent families. That’s the key finding in our just-released report, Canadian Children at Home: Living Arrangements in the 2021 Census.

Canada’s fertility rate is 1.4 children per woman. Why is it so low? One major factor is that women are having fewer kids than they say they want, according to this report by Lyman Stone, a Cardus senior fellow and demographer.

The purpose of this backgrounder is to provide context for conversations at Cardus on the advantages, challenges, and potential reforms needed to improve Canada’s parental-leave benefits policies.

A Cardus Research Brief

The Christian tradition possesses the tools to aid the Christian community in asking the right questions regarding the cultivation of a healthy participation of children in public life

A Cardus Family Policy Brief

Why do some young adults choose to marry and others do not?

A Cardus research brief highlighting unpartnered young adults and the decline of fertility in Canada.

The federal budget of 2021 offers national daycare at a cost of $30 billion over five years, with an annual cost of $9.2 billion after that. This sounds like a lot of funding, but is it enough?

This research report offers a detailed assessment of the real cost of national daycare and the amounts that provincial governments will realistically be responsible for contributing once the federal funding is spent.

Strong, stable families are irreplaceable and are foundational to a healthy society. Good family policy can also enhance family well-being by addressing the diverse needs of families and their most vulnerable members, children.

Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of Canadian parents and their reasons for the type of care they choose.

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? The pertinent question is if Quebec offers a model of high-quality, affordable care?

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, does the Quebec model help parents?

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, Should the federal government introduce a new child-care model? 

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, can we have both cash benefits for families and a national daycare system?

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, will a “universal” early-learning and child-care system get mothers back to waged work after the pandemic? 

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, do those who oppose a national daycare system also oppose working mothers? 

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? Another question that begs to be answered is if Nobel Prize–winning economist James Heckman supports universal daycare? 

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, do we have a credible cost estimate for a national, high-quality universal daycare system?  

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, would spending 1 percent of GDP on child care achieve a national, high-quality daycare system?

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, is there a shortage of child care in Canada? 

The federal government intends to implement a national universal child-care program that will require the provinces to exchange autonomy for funding directed toward a one-size-fits-all system. A national universal child-care program is structurally opposed to equity for all families, because it limits funding based on the type of care families use. There are better options.

Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of Alberta parents and their reasons for the type of care they choose.

The federal government intends to implement a national universal child-care program that will require the provinces to exchange autonomy for funding directed toward a one-size-fits-all system. A national universal child-care program is structurally opposed to equity for all families, because it limits funding based on the type of care families use. There are better options.

Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of BC parents and their reasons for the type of care they choose.

The federal government intends to implement a national universal child-care program that will require the provinces to exchange autonomy for funding directed toward a one-size-fits-all system. A national universal child-care program is structurally opposed to equity for all families, because it limits funding based on the type of care families use. There are better options.

Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of parents in Manitoba and their reasons for the type of care they choose.