2. Introduction

The demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Canadian families have shifted through history as a result of social, economic and cultural factors. In the 1960s, the majority of children lived with their married parents; very few lived in lone-parent families.Footnote 1 Following a number of societal changes, including the introduction of the 1968 Divorce Act and the increase in women’s higher education and labour force participation, the number of children living in lone-parent families increased as of the 1970s.Footnote 2

Couple families continue to represent the largest majority of census families;Footnote 3 however, the number of lone-parent families is continuously increasing. While the most significant rise in this family type occurred prior to the new millennium, the number of families headed by a lone parent (sometimes referred to as one-parent families, single-parents or solo-parents) increased by 7%, from 1,406,400 families to 1,510,180 families between 2001 and 2021.Footnote 4

Research has previously reported on the financial challenges that lone-parent families are more likely to experience compared to couple families.Footnote 5 Not only are lone-parent families historically more likely to be living in low income, but they are also more likely to remain in low income for longer periods compared to couple families.Footnote 6 This is likely due to the fact that there is only one potential earner for the family with at least one child requiring support. Understanding the income and economic well-being of lone-parent families is important, as a higher prevalence of these families living in low income has ramifications on the lone-parent and their children. Income is a social determinant of crime, meaning that families living in low income are more likely to experience victimization and more likely to engage in criminal activities.Footnote 7 Previous studies have also reported on the intergenerational effects of being raised in low-income families; these individuals were less likely to attend post-secondary education and more likely to have lower family incomes as adults.Footnote 8 Monitoring trends in the income of lone-parent families, including making comparisons with other family types and looking at intersectional data, where available, also helps inform the Department of Justice Canada’s ongoing policy development of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

This report aims to answer the following questions:

This report is divided into three sections. The first presents the data sources and methodological considerations. The second analyzes the data on the income and economic well-being of lone-parent families between 2001 and 2021, focusing on income trends, low-income statistics, and sources of income, including market income, government transfers, and support payments. Where data are available, the report also presents information on the experiences of Indigenous people, people with disabilities, and immigrants by racialized identity. The last section presents a discussion around three key questions that summarize the overall trends found, the impact of government transfers, and the disproportionate experiences of certain lone-parent families.