Many Canadians are aware of the sea of troubles with which Canada is struggling. These include a stalled economy, low productivity, a staggering debt, excessive taxation, the high cost of food (which economists advise us will increase by $1,000 next year), high unemployment, a collapsing health system, aboriginal land claims, Communist China’s unimpeded acquisition of our agricultural land and natural resources, and its unimpeded interference in our elections, to name a few of Canada’s problems.
Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to be little interested in these problems, seemingly giving a few cursory kicks at a few issues prior to exiting the country for yet another meeting with international globalist elites. Worse, Carney seems entirely uninterested in the greatest threat to Canada’s future – the collapse of marriage and family in this country. The consequences of this are momentous. It has placed Canada on a demographic precipice.
On January 26, 2026, Statistics Canada reported that in 2024, Canada’s fertility reached an all-time low of 1.25 births per woman. A birth rate of 2.1 children is required to maintain the population. Stats Canada stated in its report, “This decrease in births is due to the fact that more women are not having children by choice, by circumstance or because they are delaying motherhood.” In 2024, more than 51% of Canadian women between the ages of 20-49 years were not yet mothers. Canada now has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. By contrast, according to the World Bank, high fertility rates occur in the African countries of Somalia, Chad, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Consequently, European countries are working hard to enforce abortion in these countries to offset their high birth rate. They are doing so by bribing politicians in these countries to vote for abortion policies and by funding pro-abortion NGOs to lobby the government to provide wide open abortion laws.
Immigration is not going to rescue our country from demographic disaster. Canada is already unable to assimilate the influx of over 3 million, unskilled and unscreened immigrants brought into the country by Justin Trudeau during the last years of his reign. Further, modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are not a substitute for the loss of future workers because they cannot replace a viable workforce. Also, technology is no substitute for the home, the neighborhood and the family. The latter is the best welfare system there is to provide health, emotional support and care for its members. It also serves as an institution that teaches the hard truths of moral values, builds character, and gives the young the ability to become independent, stable, functioning, and hopefully, compassionate individuals.
The fall of fertility is driven by the decline of marriage. For our survival, society must start promoting and encouraging marriage for our young people.
The Role of the Family
It is essential that children have the stability of family in order to thrive, as stability is the key to the healthy development of children whether in their earliest years or later in their adolescence. The family teaches children about their environment and provides for their basic needs, assists in their health, and protects their well-being. Although married parents are not the only family arrangement to provide stability for children, it is usually more stable than unmarried parents or a single parent. Whatever the family arrangement, children need the structure of a family to provide them with a sense of security vital to their development.
All children (indeed, all human beings no matter their age) require love, care, and nurturing in a stable environment. If deprived of these, they become dysfunctional and disconnected. Inadequate family life can lead to poor mental health, an increased propensity for drug and alcohol addiction, and criminal behavior.
The family, no matter how imperfect at times, is the only institution ever invented that provides children with a love that is centered on them. All other institutions, including schools and day care, are intentionally designed to be impartial. But in order for children’s personalities to develop in a healthy manner, it is necessary that someone care intensely for them, so as to give them priority over all other children. It is within the family unit that this kind of intense caring usually takes place. In no way can a government or technology supply the love, attention and self-sacrifice that parents spontaneously offer their children. Obviously, some families are not stable, and do not provide the necessities for their children. Such families should be helped by our social assistance structures in a caring, civilized society if it wants to protect itself from wounded (damaged) individuals. According to a mountain of studies, marriage and children provide a more substantial identity for both men and women, than that obtained through professional careers and the pursuit of personal pleasures unencumbered by children.
Motherhood
It is universally acknowledged that pregnancy and the birth of children leave a marked hormonal change on women, increasing their desire to protect and nurture their child. This aspect is not a “social construct” as argued by feminists, but is an integral part of women’s nature. It is not an anomaly in women, but a dominant characteristic. Children are a source of unbounded joy and fulfillment for most women. This is not to pretend that parenting is always easy, but ultimately most women do not regret the effort of motherhood, since it brings a unique dimension of meaning and purpose to their lives.
Fatherhood
It is not as well publicized, however, that men have joy in fatherhood, which provides meaning and purpose in their lives. According to Dr. Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, and a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, married fatherhood changes a man in subtle ways. He states that, fathers “experience hormonal changes during their wives’ pregnancy and experience more hormonal changes the more they care for their infant or toddler.” Dr. Wilcox reminds us that married fatherhood domesticates men which is a cultural advantage to society. Dr. Wilcox states, “Married fathers are the happiest guys out there.”
A National Conversation
In view of the imminent danger to Canada’s future because of our declining marriage and birthrate, it is critical that Canada, especially politicians, stop burying their heads like ostriches and come to grips with this real threat to our country. Canada is a nation rooted in its people, the rule of law, its culture and traditions, but it cannot be sustained if we do not marry and form families. It is legitimate for the government to encourage ways of life that allow its people to endure and flourish. Therefore, it is necessary to persuade more young people to marry, own homes, raise the next generation and find deep fulfillment in family life.
It is time to have a national conversation and ask hard questions such as: Why are women predominant in universities and the professions – (except S.T.E.M. – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)? Why can’t young, educated women find eligible, responsible males with whom to build a family? Why are so many young men remaining at home playing video games and watching pornography, instead of entering into stable marriages to provide for, protect, and to participate in the raising of children? Why are studies not being conducted to determine the extent of these core problems in Canada today?
The decline in fertility is not about income (poor women still have more children than rich women), or childcare costs (affluent western countries have more daycare but have the lowest fertility rate). A clue might be that the youngest generation is exhibiting a decreased interest in having children. A 2023 Pew pole (with results that probably also apply to Canada) indicate that young American women state they are “unlikely ever to have children”. When asked why, the common response was that they simply do not want to. This is unnatural. Throughout history most women want children, which is one of the most dominant characteristics of women. Why has this changed? Why also are we not demanding special benefits for families such as occur in France, Hungary and Poland, which have abolished income tax for families with two or more children. Children are of more value to the State than tax revenue.
The Dark Tunnel
Canada has entered into a dark tunnel. We can head toward the light at the end of the tunnel by devising ways to encourage the formation of families and the birth of children. Alternatively, we can remain huddled in the dark tunnel, waiting inevitably for the tunnel to collapse on us. The time to act is now.