SOLO IN STYLE: More Canadians living alone than ever before, Census shows

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A portrait of Canadians shows more are home alone than ever before.

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More people are living alone, but having a roommate is the fastest growing type of household, according to the 2021 Census.

Statistics Canada says these living arrangement reflect social economic conditions, aging and population growth.

In 2021, 4.4 million people lived alone — up from 1.7 million in 1981 — and this represents 15% of all Canadians aged 15 and older in private households in 2021. That is the highest number on record.

“In recent decades, there has been a gradual decrease in the share of households composed of only one family with no additional people. Alternatives like living alone, with roommates, or with extended family members have grown in popularity,” Statistics Canada said in its report.

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“The diversification of living arrangements has implications for housing supply and demand, as well as individuals’ care and support networks, spending, and economies of scale.”

Despite the increase in solo living in Canada, the prevalence of one-person households is low compared to international numbers.

In Canada, three in 10 households (29.3%) in 2021 were solo occupants.

Of G7 countries, only the United States had a smaller share of people living alone with 28.5% in 2021.

“Solo living is on the rise in middle-adulthood in Canada, with the share of people aged 35 to 44 who live alone doubling from 1981 (5%) to 2021 (10%),” the report said.

“In contrast, the share of women aged 65 and older living alone has decreased over time, owing to gradual convergence in the life expectancies of men and women. This is allowing older adults, particularly women — to live as part of a couple for longer.”

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Sharing a household with a roommate is becoming increasingly popular. From 2001 to 2021, the number of roommate households increased by 54%.

But they represented a small share of all of Canada’s households in 2021 at 4%.

In 2021, nearly one million were composed of multiple generations of a family, two or more census families, or one census family living with additional persons not in a census family.

These multiple generation households have grown rapidly in the last twenty years up 45% and represented 7% of all households in 2021.

“Following steady growth from 2001 (31%) to 2016 (35%), the share of young adults aged 20 to 34 living in the same household as at least one of their parents was unchanged from 2016 to 2021 (35%),” the report said.

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“In 2021, an additional 15% of individuals in their 20s and early 30s lived with roommates—that is, with extended relatives or other non-related people. This was the fastest-growing living arrangement for this age group from 2016 to 2021.”

From 2016 to 2021, the largest number of young adults living with at least one parent was in large urban centres in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In Ontario, the highest number of young people living with a parent was also in urban centres, particularly in Oshawa where nearly half (49%) of young adults lived with their parents in 2021.

The number of children aged zero to 14 living in a private household was stable between 2016 to 2021.

In 2021, almost one in 10 children aged 0 to 14 — more than half a million children — were living in the same household as at least one of their grandparents.

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Most of these 516,995 children were living in a multigenerational household, meaning they lived with at least one parent and at least one grandparent.

There were 36,860 children living with one or more grandparents and without parents.

In 2021, half a million children aged zero to 14 lived in a step family.

There were 26,675 foster children aged 0 to 14 in 2021, which is down 10% from the 29,590 reported 10 years ago.