This article aims first to contrast the trends of marriage and cohabitation across different regions in Canada, and second, to assess whether cohabitation constitutes a new stage in the progression to marriage, or an alternative to marriage altogether. Based on various empirical demographic indicators, the analysis shows profound differences across the country. In Quebec, cohabiting unions are now widely accepted as forming the basis for family life, whereas they still largely constitute a childless prelude to marriage elsewhere in Canada. The authors discuss the role of different religious and cultural backgrounds, and of recent changes in the relationships between men and women, in accounting for the divergent evolution observed.

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Numerous studies have shown that cohabitors are less likely to pool their money than married couples. The authors raise the question of whether the marriage–cohabitation gap in money pooling varies according to the level of institutionalization of cohabitation in the society. They compared 2 Canadian regions with very different demographic regimes. The francophone province Québec has the highest proportion of cohabiting couples in the world, whereas the levels of cohabitation are moderate in other Canadian provinces. Moreover, the 2 regions differ in their legal systems (civil code vs. common law) and legal regulation of cohabitation. Using data from the Canadian 2011 General Social Survey (N = 9,852), the authors found that cohabitors in both regions are less likely to pool their money together. Nevertheless, they did not confirm the hypothesis that the marriage–cohabitation gap is smaller in Québec despite the higher levels of institutionalization of cohabitation in this region.

Canada's first national fertility survey, carried out by telephone in 1984, found that 68 percent of all women aged 18-49-73 percent of currently married women, 69 percent of the previously married women and 57 percent of single women--are practicing contraception. Overall, the most widely used method of birth control in Canada is sterilization (male and female), which is relied on by almost 60 percent of all married users and 66 percent of previously married users. Among single women, the preferred method is the pill, chosen by seven out of 10 of such users. Among all women, the major determinant of method choice is age: The pill is overwhelmingly chosen by women under 25, and sterilization, by those 30 and over. While the IUD and the condom are used by roughly 10-14 percent of women in their 20s who practice contraception, these methods decline in importance with increasing age. Highly educated women are less likely than those with little education to elect sterilization, and more likely to rely on barrier methods. Differences in contraceptive prevalence and patterns of use between Catholics and Protestants have all but disappeared in Canada, but church attendance and country of birth appear to exert a modest influence on method choice. As might be anticipated, women whose family size is complete have considerably higher levels of contraceptive use than those who expect to have more children. The survey reveals no difference in contraceptive use between Quebec women and those in the rest of Canada, thus confirming both the accuracy of earlier Quebec studies showing extremely high levels of sterilization and the applicability of these findings to all other Canadian women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

RÉSUMÉ S'inspirant des auteurs qui laissent entendre que l'union libre est une forme d'union qui correspondrait mieux à la sensibilité et à la mentalité des générations récentes, pour lesquelles l'épanouissement personnel constitue le critère de comportement ultime, les auteures s'interrogent sur la signification de l'union libre en relation avec les valeurs qu'elle véhicule, en prenant pour exemple les comportements et les attitudes contrastés des Québécois et des Ontariens à l'égard de la formation des unions et des familles. Les résultats, fondés sur les données de l'Enquête sociale générale de 1995 réalisée par Statistique Canada, montrent que les jeunes couples qui choisissent l'union libre ont plus souvent que ceux qui se marient des attitudes qui vont dans le sens d'une redéfinition de l'union conjugale : moindre importance attachée à la durée de la relation de couple et à l'enfant, très faible importance du mariage lui-même comme source de bonheur, et moindre importance attachée à la stabilité du couple. À cet égard, les couples du Québec semblent en avance sur ceux de l'Ontario.

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