Abstract

There were a total of 7 837 865 families in Canada in 1996. Families include married couples or common-law couples, with or without children living at home, and single parents. Of those families, 66% were families with children. Lone parent families make up 22% of all families with children. Over the last 10 years the distribution of children among the different types of families has changed. The proportion of married-couple families with children has decreased. However, there has been an increase in both common-law families with children and lone-parent families. Most children live with their biological or adoptive parents. The highest proportion of families with children living at home is in the Northwest Territories.