Report Shows Nearly 6-Year Increase in Age of First-Time Mothers from 1965 to 2019
The average age of first-time mothers has risen just shy of six years since 1965, a new report has found.
The average age of a new mom in 1965 was 23.5 years. That number has steadily increased, coming in at 29.4 years in 2019, according to a report published by the University of Calgary’s School of Social Policy. The university has been tracking the age at which women first become mothers since 1945.
Looking at provincial data, the authors noted that the age of mothers when they have their first child has been consistently low in Saskatchewan and consistently high in British Columbia. In 2019, women in Saskatchewan were approximately 27 years old when they had their first child. That number was 30 years in B.C.
“The average age of mothers at first birth has increased in all provinces” since 2012, the report found. Alberta had the largest increase at 1.1 years while Quebec’s increase of 0.4 years was the smallest.
“The fact they continue unchanged through economic booms and busts and across all provinces suggests that these trends have more to do with changing societal norms than with financial considerations, such as the cost of living and the cost of childcare,” the authors wrote.
The average age of mothers at first birth will plateau eventually, the report noted, but said the age at which that might happen could not be predicted for certain.
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Canada’s fertility rate dropped to a record low in 2022 with an average of 1.33 children per woman, according to Statistics Canada.
The decline in total fertility rate from 2021 to 2022 was 7.4 percent, and was the largest since 1971-1972 when there was a 7.6 percent drop in fertility rate, the government agency said.
While Canada’s population grew 3.2 percent in 2023, it was largely due to immigration.
“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less,” Statistics Canada said.
Numbers by Statista show that Ontario had the largest number of births in 2023, at 137,748, while Quebec saw the second largest number at 79,050. A total of 48,523 babies were born in Alberta in 2023, while B.C. welcomed 41,035 newborns. Manitoba rounded out the top five with 17,146 births.
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