08/02/2017
Why are so many living alone?
Although it is easy to assume that more people living alone means Canadians are lonely and unhappy, experts say that is not necessarily the case. They key difference between a happy and an unhappy single-person household, they say, is whether the independence is a choice.
Barbara Mitchell, a professor of sociology and gerontology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, said much of the trend toward living alone can be attributed to greater individualism and changing gender roles.
“A lot of women now have the economic means to afford to live on their own,” said Dr. Mitchell, adding that many senior women want to have a home to themselves after a lifetime of taking care of other people. “A lot of the research seems to suggest that living alone confers a lot of negatives in terms of health outcomes. But I think it is really dependent upon whether it is a choice or whether it is forced upon you.” "
CELEBRATE YOUR SOLO STATUS. SINGLE IS THE NEW NORMAL.
Statscan's latest figures paint a clearer picture of how Canadian families lived and what languages they spoke in 2016. Here are the highlights