British Columbia has the lowest birthrate in Canada at a rate of one birth per woman.
We might conclude it’s a sign of the times as women focus on their careers, have babies later in life or choose not to have a family at all.
A more concerning reason is that couples decide it’s too expensive to have a child, let alone two.
The high cost of living, lack of family-friendly housing, and affordable childcare are huge restraints.
Sadly, our communities, including ours, have become places that young people cannot see a future due to the high cost of living.
My husband has lost employees to Alberta, customers to the Maritimes, and our children’s friends have left the province for all parts of the world.
It’s simply costs way too much to live in the Lower Mainland, and don’t get me started on the traffic.
The provincial election is days away and top of the list for voters is how government is going to fix our housing shortage and make it more affordable.
Stable housing is like a tentacle that winds it way into all aspects of society, from healthcare to crime to drug use. Yet it appears to be as hard to fix as the drug crisis.
In my Beach Grove neighbourhood, a single-family house has topped the charts for sale at $3.4 million, and I am appalled.
Why are developers still building monster homes for the elite in 2024? Have we not learned anything?
While immigration has provided a much-needed population increase in B.C. there are consequences of a lower birthrate.
We rely on our families economically and emotionally, and that becomes especially important as we age.
Vote with the next generation in mind on Oct. 19. Your future depends on it.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance writer who is depending on a robust birth rate, so she has someone to care for her in her old age.
