Canada's Families: They Count = Les Familles Canadiennes: Faits Et Chiffres.

This report contains tabular presentations of trends in national and provincial statistics on Canadian families. Included are: (1) changes in demographic characteristics from the 1970s to the 1990s; (2) population by age group; (3) ethnic heritage; (4) mother tongue; (5) religion; (6) rural/urban living arrangements; (7) living alone or living in families; (8) family size; (9) marriage and divorce rates; (10) couples with children or living in common law marriages; (11) lone-parent families; (12) senior citizens; (13) labor force participation; (14) family income; and (15) poverty rates. Findings indicate that 3.7 percent of Canada's population have Aboriginal origins, with considerable provincial differences in ethnic profile. The predominant faith continues to be Christian, with Catholics outnumbering Protestants for the first time in 1991. Eastern non-Christian religions have increased significantly between 1981 and 1991. About 75 percent of the population live in urban areas, little change in the past 25 years. A smaller proportion of Canadians live in families in 1994 than in 1971. One of the most important family changes is the declining family size. The number of senior citizens has doubled in the last 25 years. The poverty rate of elderly Canadians has declined substantially, while the rate of child poverty has increased markedly. (KB)