According to Statistics Canada, Canadians are likely to delay having children due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Since fertility is one of the most significant factors in long-term immigration planning, Canadian immigration policymakers and analysts believe that any reduction in fertility related to the coronavirus pandemic will impact the market.
Therefore, an economic justification for increasing the level of immigration to Canada is the country’s low fertility rate. As a result, this can have a significant impact on GDP and Canada’s competitiveness on the global stage.
Statistics Canada has recently investigated the effect of the Corona epidemic on the issue of fertility in this country. Last year, like several other countries, this country had the lowest birth rate and the most extensive decrease in the number of newborns since 2006.
In addition, in 2020, the decrease in the fertility rate of this country reached its lowest rate of 1.4 children per woman. Although these data indicate that the corona epidemic has harmed the issue of having children in Canada, according to researchers, this is not the whole story because according to the continuous decrease in the birth rate in Canada since 2008, it can be considered the continuation of a long-term trend.
The indicators of this study will not be able to determine the impact of this epidemic on fertility or its duration. Also, this research shows that if the fertility rate continues to decrease in the coming years, Canada can be among the countries with the lowest fertility rate. Such a situation can bring things like a rapidly aging population, increasing stress and psychological pressure on the labor market, and creating challenges in the pension systems and public health care.
Delay in having Children and its Role in Immigration to Canada
About 20% of Canada’s population have admitted that they intend to have fewer children or delay this, and only 4% want to have more children or have children sooner.
Due to the spread of the corona disease, people are more inclined to have children later than never to have children. One of the striking findings of this survey is that 31 years can be considered the average age of new Canadian mothers.
Those who have had children in the past are more likely to want fewer children or to delay this.
Overall, it remains to be seen whether Canada’s fertility rate will return to normal or continue to decline. Delay in childbearing can still impress society and immigration to Canada.