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FIRST READING: Canadians would gladly be having millions more babies if they could

If every Canadian got the family size they wanted, the country would almost be reproducing at replacement rate

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FIRST READING: Canadians would gladly be having millions more babies if they could Back to video

With Canada currently charting one of the lowest birthrates on Earth, a new survey finds that if young Canadians felt able to, they would happily be posting one of the highest fertility rates in the Western world.

“The data suggest that for many Canadian women and men, achieving the family life they desire remains a challenge,” reads the report “Home Alone” by Cardus, an Ontario-based non-partisan Christian think tank.

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The new report relies on a survey of 3,000 Canadian adults commissioned by Cardus and conducted by the Angus Reid Group last July. It found that when Canadians between 18 and 44 were asked to name their “ideal” family size, women reported wanting an average of 1.97 children, while men wanted an average of 2.13.

Both figures are vastly higher than Canada’s current fertility rate of just 1.25 children per woman.

While family size does not directly........

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