Census Spells End of the Canadian Family as We Know It

The stats are in and—cue drum roll—nuclear is no longer the status quo when it comes to Canadian families.

The typical mother, father and three biological kids formation from some 50 years ago is no longer typical, according to an article in the Huffington Post. The 'family' has been replaced with variations on the theme, including blended or step families, solos, empty-nesters, and multiple generations all living under one roof.

In the third segment of its 2011 census, Statistics Canada has revealed how dramatically our families have changed over five decades.  

On the downswing are married couples, with single parents consistently rising. In 1961 the average family comprised 3.9 people. Whereas, it's now a mere 2.9.

The scales have also tipped when it comes to the number of people living alone, with one-person households making up 27.6 per cent of all homes, particularly in Quebec. For the first time ever there are more 'solo' dwellers than couples (26.5) out there.

In the past decade alone, parents with children form just 39.2 per cent of all families, most of whom live in common-law relationships.

Stats also revealed in the Huffington Post that one in 10 children now lives in some sort of blended family.

Even though there were said to be 9.4 million families in Canada in 2011, an increase of 5.5 per cent on figures from 2006, the dynamics of those families are clearly changing.

Single-parent families were up 8 per cent from 2006, with eight out of 10 being mothers. 

Even though the number of same-sex families rose 42.4 per cent from 2006, they still only made up 0.8 per cent of all couples last year.

For the first time, Stats Can honed in foster children, the highest predominance of whom were in Manitoba, and among the First Nations population. 

Curiously, step families were most common in the province of Quebec, and least common in Ontario. 

The findings certainly make for more complicated weddings. You can never take for granted a straightforward union of two families! 

Any surprises here, or does it pretty much ring true with your experience?