The number of births in Canada has fallen to a 15-year low amid COVID-19 pandemic

An expert said the declining birth rate can also be pinned to financial and societal changes being felt among younger Canadians compared to previous generations.

The number of babies born in Canada fell to a nearly 15-year low last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but experts say that’s not the only factor leading to the decline.

Statistics Canada said 358,604 live births were reported across the country in 2020, the lowest number since 2006. The decline from 2019 — 3.6 per cent — was also the greatest-year-over-year decline in 14 years.

A decline was noted in every province and territory, the report noted further.

“It’s a consistent downward trend, and it’s consistent across most of the northern industrialized countries such as the U.S. and Australia,” said Mary-Ann Murphy, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, who specializes in aging and demographics.

The Statistics Canada report, released Sept. 28, noted the United States saw a four per cent drop in births between 2019 and 2020, with decreases of 3.9 per cent and two per cent in the United Kingdom and France, respectively.

The number of births in Canada has been falling steadily over the past five years. There were over 383,000 births in 2016.

Murphy said the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be “the opposite of a baby boom,” with younger couples more concerned about job losses, finances and maintaining a roof over their heads than growing their families.

But she said the pandemic only magnified barriers to having children that she’s heard from her young students for years.