Maternity Leave in Canada by the Numbers

on August 10, 2009 8 Comments

matleavecarnivalbanner

Today is the very last Mat Leave Monday. Can you believe it? I can’t. I have spent months talking about how maternity leave works, what it’s like around the world, and why it matters. Along the way I have gathered some fun statistics and I thought I would take the chance to share them with you today. So here it is, maternity leave in Canada by the numbers.

  • In 2005, prior to the introduction of the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), the total annual cost of maternity and parental leave was approximately $3 billion CAD.
  • In 2008, a few years after the introduction of the QPIP the total annual cost of maternity and parental leave through Employment Insurance was approximately $2.9 billion CAD.
  • The total annual cost of maternity and parental benefits through QPIP is estimated at $1.45 billion CAD.
  • In 2005, prior to the introduction of the QPIP, 32% of fathers in Quebec claimed parental benefits. That increased to 56% in 2006.
  • Outside of Quebec approximately 11% of fathers claim parental benefits, although that goes down to 8% for men whose partners also claim parental benefits.
  • 77% of mothers inside Quebec, and 62% outside of Quebec, claim parental benefits.
  • 386,900 mothers had a child under the age of 12 months in 2008 (including me!), and 77% of them had insurable income before giving birth.
  • 88% of mothers with insurable employment received some maternity or parental benefits during pregnancy or since the birth or adoption, for a total of 68% of new mothers, or approximately 263,000 women in 2008.
  • Over 80% of mothers planned to return to work within two years of the birth of their child in 2000 / 2001.
  • The median length of maternity and parental leave was 10 months for mothers in 2001, and lower incomes were associated with a quicker return to work.
  • Employed mothers who didn’t receive benefits through EI took an average leave of 4 months in 2000 / 2001.

    • I’m not sure what all of these statistics mean, exactly. I just think they’re interesting, and highlight how maternity leave is actually used. I hope that you found them interesting, too. And I hope you’ve enjoyed my Mat Leave Monday series as much as I have. I’ll be finishing off the Carnival of Maternity Leave this week, and then I will continue to re-visit maternity leave and related topics from time to time. But I also have some new things planned. You’ll just have to stay tuned a few weeks to find out what they are.

    In the meantime, I have finished assembling the maternity leave survival kit that I will be giving to one lucky participant in my carnival. Here are a couple of photos of the goodies that are up for grabs (that’s the chocolate in the centre):

    Maternity leave survival kit

    Close-up of the maternity leave survival kit

    Related Posts with Thumbnails
    Be Sociable, Share!
      Tagged With:

      Comments

      1. Emily R says:
        August 10, 2009 at 6:45 am

        thank you for this series

        Reply
      2. Green Mamma says:
        August 10, 2009 at 7:24 am

        I never know what to make of statistics either . . . interesting though they may be at times. I’ve enjoyed this series and once upon a time I read that writing 10 posts about a topic you’re an expert on is a great way to generate a wider audience (not that you needed to peak my interest, :-) ).

        Anyway, looking forward to hearing more in the coming months, :-)

        Reply
      3. Lady M says:
        August 10, 2009 at 8:44 am

        It’s a great series you’ve done! It’s interesting to see what a high percentage of women had insurable income and how many intend to go back to work. In the US media, there’s so much chatter about women not working outside the home, but it’s not financially viable for most, beside not necessarily being the interest of the moms!

        Reply
      4. Allison says:
        August 10, 2009 at 11:07 am

        I came in somewhere in the middle, but I thought Mat Leave Monday was a great idea — way to class up a blog and give yourself some structure. How did you decide how long it was going to be, or did you just run out of countries? What’s next? Is that prying? What’s your favourite colour? I would go walk off my caffeine buzz but it’s too damned hot. Guess I’ll just read more blogs :)

        Reply
      5. Francesca says:
        August 10, 2009 at 1:12 pm

        You did a very good job with this, and I’m looking forward to your new projects!

        Reply
      6. *pol says:
        August 10, 2009 at 5:01 pm

        Very interesting Stats!
        I am so happy that you compiled this series, I learned so much.
        I saw a mom today with her one week old baby girl and I almost cried! I was just so happy to see someone I know starting off with baby #3 and looking so healthy (I always thought it was weird when people got all teary-eyed looking at babies, but now I COMPLETELY understand!)

        Reply
      7. Maria@Conversations with Moms says:
        August 14, 2009 at 8:47 am

        Thank you for all the hard work in compiling this series. It was always a fun read and educational too.

        It’s amazing the cost of maternity and parental leave in Canada. I’m grateful that it continues to be an important benefit for the government.

        Reply

      I love comments! If yours doesn't appear immediately, it was caught by my spam filter. Since spammers love me as much as I love comments, I can't always search through all the spam. So get in touch, and I'll rescue your comment.

      Share Your Thoughts

      *

      CommentLuv badge

      Subscribe to followup comments