Marriage in Canada: trends by province, 1991 to 2020

About 146,000 couples married in Canada in 2019, and 98,355 in 2020, a fall of 32.7% in the first year of the pandemic. That was the fewest marriages in a year since 1938, and the largest fall from one year to the next since Canada began counting in 1921. Over the three decades before it, marriages had already drifted down, from 172,251 in 1991, while the population grew.

These figures come from Statistics Canada's table 39-10-0055-01, "Number of marriages and nuptiality indicators", released on 14 November 2022. It covers 1991 to 2020 and is still the latest release (checked 23 October 2026). We copied the figures from the table and drew the charts below; each chart has a table of the same numbers.

How many weddings in Canada a year

From 172,251 in 1991 to about 145,000 to 150,000 a year through the 2010s, then 98,355 in 2020 (the last column).

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

1991200020102020

The figures as a table

Marriages in Canada by year, 1991 to 2020

Year	Marriages	Per 1,000 people	Chance of ever marrying
1991	172,251	6.1	73.6%
1992	164,574	5.8	71.9%
1993	159,315	5.6	70.1%
1994	159,960	5.5	69.7%
1995	160,251	5.5	69.3%
1996	156,690	5.3	68.1%
1997	153,306	5.1	67.0%
1998	152,820	5.1	66.7%
1999	155,742	5.1	67.0%
2000	157,395	5.1	67.0%
2001	146,619	4.7	64.1%
2002	146,739	4.7	63.6%
2003	147,390	4.7	64.7%
2004	146,241	4.6	64.8%
2005	147,909	4.6	64.5%
2006	150,504	4.6	64.8%
2007	148,956	4.5	63.6%
2008	147,288	4.4	62.9%
2009	146,412	4.4	62.0%
2010	145,512	4.3	61.5%
2011	144,126	4.2	60.8%
2012	147,426	4.2	61.2%
2013	142,944	4.1	60.0%
2014	147,744	4.2	60.6%
2015	149,256	4.2	60.9%
2016	149,037	4.1	60.4%
2017	148,908	4.1	60.6%
2018	150,858	4.1	60.8%
2019	146,121	3.9	59.3%
2020	98,355	2.6	44.4%

Through the 2010s Canada registered between about 143,000 and 151,000 marriages a year, close to 400 a day. The count from 1991 to 2019 fell 15.2%, while the population grew by about a third, so each year a smaller share of Canadians married.

The marriage rate per 1,000 people

The rate fell from 6.1 in 1991 to 3.9 in 2019, while the population grew, then to 2.6 in 2020 (the last column).

2

4

6

8

1991200020102020

The figures as a table

Marriage rate in Canada by year, 1991 to 2020

Year	Marriages	Per 1,000 people	Chance of ever marrying
1991	172,251	6.1	73.6%
1992	164,574	5.8	71.9%
1993	159,315	5.6	70.1%
1994	159,960	5.5	69.7%
1995	160,251	5.5	69.3%
1996	156,690	5.3	68.1%
1997	153,306	5.1	67.0%
1998	152,820	5.1	66.7%
1999	155,742	5.1	67.0%
2000	157,395	5.1	67.0%
2001	146,619	4.7	64.1%
2002	146,739	4.7	63.6%
2003	147,390	4.7	64.7%
2004	146,241	4.6	64.8%
2005	147,909	4.6	64.5%
2006	150,504	4.6	64.8%
2007	148,956	4.5	63.6%
2008	147,288	4.4	62.9%
2009	146,412	4.4	62.0%
2010	145,512	4.3	61.5%
2011	144,126	4.2	60.8%
2012	147,426	4.2	61.2%
2013	142,944	4.1	60.0%
2014	147,744	4.2	60.6%
2015	149,256	4.2	60.9%
2016	149,037	4.1	60.4%
2017	148,908	4.1	60.6%
2018	150,858	4.1	60.8%
2019	146,121	3.9	59.3%
2020	98,355	2.6	44.4%

The crude marriage rate counts marriages per 1,000 people. It fell from 6.1 in 1991 to 3.9 in 2019, and to 2.6 in 2020. Statistics Canada also estimates the chance of marrying before 50 at each year's rates: 73.6% in 1991, 59.3% in 2019 and 44.4% in 2020. That last figure says what would happen if 2020 lasted a lifetime, not what will happen to anyone.

People also married later. The average age at marriage was 35.3 in 2019, and dipped slightly to 34.8 in 2020.

Marriages by province

Every province and territory registered fewer marriages in 2020. Quebec fell furthest and Yukon least.

• Quebec−49.3%
• Newfoundland and Labrador−44.6%
• Prince Edward Island−44.4%
• Nova Scotia−37.9%
• New Brunswick−37.6%
• Northwest Territories−37.5%
• Ontario−35.1%
• Nunavut−31.6%
• British Columbia−22.5%
• Manitoba−21.4%
• Alberta−20.4%
• Saskatchewan−17.9%
• Yukon−11.3%

Marriages by province and territory, 2019 and 2020, with the change and the rate per 1,000 people

Province or territory	2019	2020	Change	Per 1,000 in 2019
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,983	1,098	−44.6%	3.8
Prince Edward Island	825	459	−44.4%	5.2
Nova Scotia	3,969	2,463	−37.9%	4.1
New Brunswick	2,895	1,806	−37.6%	3.7
Quebec	22,284	11,307	−49.3%	2.6
Ontario	62,550	40,602	−35.1%	4.3
Manitoba	5,046	3,966	−21.4%	3.7
Saskatchewan	4,209	3,456	−17.9%	3.6
Alberta	18,159	14,451	−20.4%	4.2
British Columbia	23,868	18,492	−22.5%	4.7
Yukon	159	141	−11.3%	3.8
Northwest Territories	120	75	−37.5%	2.7
Nunavut	57	39	−31.6%	1.5
Canada	146,121	98,355	−32.7%	3.9

Ontario registers the most marriages, 43% of Canada's in 2019. Prince Edward Island had the highest rate that year, 5.2 per 1,000 people, and Quebec the lowest of the provinces, 2.6.

Every province and territory registered fewer marriages in 2020. Quebec's halved (down 49.3%), and the Atlantic provinces fell by 38% to 45%. The West fell least: Saskatchewan was down 17.9%, Alberta 20.4% and British Columbia 22.5%.

The fall didn't end with 2020. Preliminary counts for 2021 from seven provinces and territories were still between 3% (Yukon) and 34% (Quebec) below 2019. Those counts aren't in the table yet.

Canada wasn't alone. Before the pandemic, its marriage rate was close to the G7 average, and its 2020 fall was about the same as France's, smaller than Italy's (47%) and larger than Germany's, Japan's or the United States'. For the US state by state, see our marriage rates by state page, from the CDC's 2024 table.

How to read these numbers

• 2019 and 2020 are preliminary. Statistics Canada may still revise them.
• Marriages are counted where they're registered, not where the couple lives. A couple from Ontario who marry in British Columbia count in British Columbia, and Canadians who marry abroad aren't counted at all.
• Every count is rounded by Statistics Canada, so the provinces add up to Canada's total within a few marriages.
• All marriages are included, whatever the gender of the couple. Since 2008 the table hasn't split them by gender.
• The crude rate is per 1,000 people of every age, children included, so a province with more young families reads lower.

Statistics Canada's own summary, "I don't": Historic decline in new marriages during the first year of the pandemic (The Daily, 14 November 2022), is the source of the 1938 and 1921 comparisons, the average ages, the 2021 counts and the G7 comparison.

You're welcome to use these figures and charts. Please cite Statistics Canada's table, and link to this page if it helped.

What it means if you're planning a wedding

The national figures don't set your budget, but where you marry does: tax, venue prices and how busy local vendors are all change by province. Our wedding budget in Canada guide has what a Canadian wedding costs in 2026, province by province, with the sales tax.

The free budget calculator splits a total into the usual categories in Canadian dollars and shows the cost per guest. When you want the budget, the guest list and the seating plan in one place, create a free account.