Number of new divorce cases falling, StatsCan survey shows

POSTMEDIA NEWS

The number of new divorce cases being filed in Canadian civil courts has been declining in six provinces and territories for the past five years, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Statistics Canada study suggests the number of new divorce cases in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories steadily decreased by about two per cent each year between 2006-2007 and 2010-2011.

According to the study, there were 54,000 new divorce cases in 2010-2011 for the areas considered — which represent 66 per cent of Canada’s population — a decrease of two per cent from the previous year.

Lisa Strohschein, associate professor of sociology at the University of Alberta, said the drop could be attributed to fewer marriages and more couples choosing to live together.

The study, she cautioned, doesn’t take into account all relationships that come to an end, including cohabiting relationships which, she said, are more “much more likely to end” compared to marriages.

According to Strohschein’s latest research, which will be presented at a population conference in May, there was a higher likelihood of break-up in cohabiting relationships (10.2 per cent) than married couples (1.7 per cent) for couples surveyed with children between 2000 and 2008.

According to the report, 80 per cent of active divorce cases in the reporting provinces and territories in 2010-2011 were uncontested.

Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta reported a 19 per cent rate of contested divorce cases, while Nunavut had the lowest proportion at 10 per cent, the study suggested.

Divorce cases in several parts of Canada rarely reached trial stage. Only one per cent of cases in the six provinces and territories went to trial during the year, except Ontario where figures were not comparable.

Most divorces were granted within six months of the case being filed.

In Canada, the only grounds for divorce is marital breakdown (adultery, mental or physical cruelty or a separation of one or more years).