Quebecers are more likely to live alone than the rest of Canadians

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QMI agency

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 18:18

UPDATE
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 18:21

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Quebecers are the ones who live alone in the country, according to a study published on Tuesday by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

In 2016, 1.2 million people aged 15 and over lived alone in the province, or 17% of the population, in contrast with 14% for Canada as a whole.

The proportion of people living alone is higher in Quebec than in all other provinces for all age groups. The only exception affects those over 85 years of age, where the phenomenon is completely reversed. These Quebecers are those who live less alone, behind only Albertans aged more than 85 years, because they live more in collective dwellings, such as NURSING homes.

“Quebecers are less a family than the people of other provinces. No child or spouse. Marital instability is a term that can explain this track, because there are more divorces and common-law union”, said the head of the study Anne Binette Charbonneau, in a telephone interview with the QMI Agency.

The proportion of people living alone has doubled in the past 35 years in Quebec, as only 8% of people lived alone in 1981. This phenomenon, which is observed in other developed countries, is mainly explained by the change of social norms and the aging of the population, according to the Institute of statistics.

At least 60 years of age, men are more likely to live alone than women, but it is the contrary after this cap. Overall, 18 % of the Quebec lodge only, against 17% of men.

It is in Montreal that the proportion of people living alone is highest in the province at 21 %, while it is in the Nord-du-Québec that this ratio is the lowest at 9 %. The regions adjacent to Montreal, where live many families, there is a low rate (12 % to 15 %) of people occupying only one slot.