Statistics Canada reports Canada’s fertility rate stood at a 10-year high in 2006, when women aged 30 – 34-years, especially in Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia and Yukon had more babies than those aged 25 – 29-years. With Quebec and Alberta accounting for 70% of the total increase in births, the average number of children per women rose to 1.59 in 2006, up from 1.54 in 2005.  From 2005 to 2006, births were up in every province and territory except for Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.

Canada’s replacement level fertility, or the level of fertility its population needs to replace itself from one generation to the next stands at 2.1.

A possible reason for the increased birthrate could be that the echo generation of women born between 1988 and 1995 entered their childbearing years, leading to fertility rates edging upwards.  The last baby boom that saw baby boomers giving birth in large number took place in 1974 and 1975.

There were 354,617 births registered in 2006, an increase of 12,441-newborns from the year before.  Up by 3.6%, it is the largest annual increase since 1989.  However, the report states women are postponing having children until later in life.

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