Analysis series Canadian families and households

Provinces and territories

Prevalence of one-person households highest in Quebec and in the West
About half of all young adults in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario live with their parent(s)
Seniors aged 85 and over: More living alone in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, more living in health care institutions in Quebec

• Provincial and territorial highlights

Prevalence of one-person households highest in Quebec and in the West

The number of people living alone has increased in Canada over the last 20 years, in large part because of the aging population. One-person households have risen from about one-fifth of households in 1981 to one-quarter in 2001. In 2001, there were about as many one-person households in Canada (2,976,875) as there were households with four or more persons (2,938,455).

Close to 3 out of 10 households are one-person households in four provinces and one territory: Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Yukon.

Quebec has proportionally more one-person households (30%) than any other province or territory. Four out of the top five census metropolitan areas having the highest proportions of persons living alone were in Quebec: Sherbrooke (34%), Trois-Rivières (33%), Québec (32%), and Montréal (31%). The proportion of one-person households is about the same in these census metropolitan areas as it is in Victoria (32%).

Nunavut had the lowest proportion of one-person households in Canada. Only 17% of households in this territory consisted of one person.

Among the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest proportion of one-person households. Less than one-fifth (18%) of all men and women lived alone in this province. Despite this low proportion, this is still the fastest-growing household type in that province. In fact, the number of one-person households increased by 26% from 1996 to 2001, nearly double the Canadian average (14%).

One-person households vary across the provinces and territories

About half of all young adults in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario live with their parent(s)

There is more fluidity to the living arrangements of young adults today, although most still live in a family context.

Over the last two decades, young adults in Canada have a growing tendency to remain in (or return to) the parental home. The Census showed that 41% of the 3.8 million young adults (20 to 29) in Canada lived with their parents in 2001, a jump from 27% in 1981.

Important provincial and territorial differences have been observed. Young adults aged 20 to 29 were more likely to live with their parent(s) in the eastern provinces.

About half (51%) of all young adults living in Newfoundland and Labrador at the time of the census were in the parental home in 2001. Ontario had the second highest proportion, with 47% of the 1.4 million young adults in that province being members of their parents’ home. Only 30% of young adults in Saskatchewan were living in the parental home.

The pursuit of higher education, finding employment, the delaying of entry into the first conjugal union and of parenthood are all factors that can influence the family environment in which young adults find themselves.

All the provinces and territories have seen an increase in the proportion of young adults living in the parental home over the last 20 years. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the proportion of young adults aged 20 to 29 living at home increased from 36% in 1981 to 51% in 2001; this proportion jumped from 30% to 47% in Ontario in the same period.

Yukon, Alberta and British Columbia also saw the proportions of young adults living at their parental home increase substantially from 1981 to 2001. In British Columbia, the proportion was 40% in 2001, up from 22% in 1981. Although the phenomenon is still not as widespread in the Yukon as it is in most provinces, the proportion increased from 13% in 1981 to 31% in 2001.

The metropolitan areas with the highest proportion of young adults living at home are in Ontario, namely Toronto, Hamilton, St. Catharines-Niagara and Oshawa. In Toronto, 54% of young adults lived with their parent(s) in 2001.

	Proportion of young adults aged 20 to 29 living with their parent(s), Canada, provinces, and territories, 1981 and 2001
	Proportion of young adults aged 20 to 29 living with their parent(s), census metropolitan areas, 2001

Seniors aged 85 and over: More living alone in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, more living in health care institutions in Quebec

The living arrangements of the oldest seniors, those aged 85 and over, varies by their province of residence.

For senior women and men aged 85 and over, living alone was highest in Manitoba (50% of women and 29% of men), Saskatchewan (50% of women and 27% of men), British Columbia (43% of women and 25% of men) and Nova Scotia (42% of women and 26% of men).

Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest proportion of women in this age group who lived alone (28%), and Prince Edward Island had the lowest proportion of men (14%).

Nationally, only 7.2% of women aged 85 and over lived with their spouse or partner and no children in 2001, compared with 39% of men. Seniors in British Columbia were most likely to still be living with their spouse or partner at this age (9.9% of women and 44% of men). In Quebec, only 4.9% of women and 34% of men lived with their spouse or partner.

The provinces with low proportions of seniors aged 85 and over living alone or with a spouse/partner (such as Quebec and Alberta) tended to have high proportions living in health care institutions.

Quebec had a higher proportion of seniors aged 85 and over living in health care institutions than anywhere else in Canada; 44% of women and 31% of men had this type of living arrangement.

The figures are even higher in several census metropolitan areas in Quebec. For example, in Trois-Rivières, 50% of women and 40% of men aged 85 and over were in health care institutions. Close to half of the women aged 85 and over in Sherbrooke and Chicoutimi-Jonquière (now known as Saguenay) also lived in these facilities.

In Alberta, 40% of women and 28% of men lived in health care institutions. Living in these facilities was also high in Prince Edward Island, but there was little difference between the proportion of men (33%) and women (35%).

	Living arrangements for females aged 85 and over, Canada and provinces, 2001
	Living arrangements for males aged 85 and over, Canada and provinces, 2001
	Proportion of seniors aged 85 and over in health care institutions highest in Quebec and Alberta in 2001