September 12, 2007
By: David Fleischer

Traditional family still rules in York Region

Traditional two-parent families continue to thrive in York Region, despite new evidence to the contrary.

According to the latest data from the 2006 census, 83 per cent of all York Region families are still headed by a married couple. That’s significantly higher than the national average of 68.6 per cent.

The number of married couples with children in Vaughan, Markham and Richmond Hill was higher than anywhere else in the country, except for Stanley, Manitoba.

“I’m surprised because we hear all the time that marriage is going the way of the dodo bird,” said Cordelia Abankwa-Harris, the region’s director of policy and program support services and a board member with the United Way of York Region.

LOW DIVORCE

Across the country, the number of married couples is only up 3.5 per cent from 2001, but the number of common-law couple families increased nearly 19 per cent over the same period.

In York Region, however, only 5 per cent of local families are headed by a couple in a common-law relationship, about half the national average.

York Region was also below the provincial average in divorces, with 4.6 per cent of local residents identifying themselves as divorced, compared to 6.8 per cent of those across the province.

“Everyone has seen that. Marriage is not as popular as it once was,” said Dr. Mark Berber, a psychiatrist at Markham-Stouffville Hospital.

SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES

In York Region, there are 30,565 single-parent families, or approximately 12 per cent of all families.

Those headed by men constitute only 19 per cent of single-parent households in the region.

“It’s interesting to see a confirmation of what we have been seeing,” Big Brothers and Big Sisters of York executive director Moragh Wolfe said.

Ms Wolfe said the organization, which provides role models for children, particularly in single-parent homes, has seen a noticeable increase in clients over the past decade.

“There are still a lot of people, particularly new immigrants, who don’t know what we do,” she said.

Funding, staffing and the number of volunteers the organization has are all constraints, but Ms Wolfe said the new statistics are useful in knowing where to look and perform outreach.

She said the Georgina area seems to have been in greater need lately and, indeed, the numbers show 16 per cent of families in Georgina are headed by a lone parent.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

This is the first time same-sex unions were counted in the census and, though statistics were not available for every municipality, 90,695 Canadians identified themselves as being in a same-sex common-law or married relationship.

The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes York Region, led the country as home to 19,240 individuals in such relationships. Dr. Berber said the challenges facing those in non-traditional relationships, whether they be single-parent families or same-sex families, lessen as they become more socially accepted.

“More problems will occur when people are in relationships where they don’t feel it’s natural,” he said.

HOUSING

Across York Region, 68.2 per cent of houses are single detached, well above the provincial average of 56.1 per cent.

It is not quite Manhattan, but Richmond Hill is the high-rise capital of York Region, with 12.7 per cent of the town’s dwellings in apartments five storeys or taller.

The release of census data Dec. 4 will include language, migration and immigration data.

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