This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the number of marriages in the province of Quebec. Isolation measures have clearly forced many couples to postpone their plans until further notice, but what is surprising is how fewer couples there are getting hitched these days.
According to new data published by the Institut de la statistique du Québec, Quebec recorded the lowest recorded number of marriages in over 100 years— the fewest since 1903, to be exact.
In 2019, an estimated 22,250 marriages were recorded in Quebec, representing a decrease of around 600 compared to the two previous years. But that decrease doesn’t compare to the gap recorded the following year. According to the results, Quebecers celebrated only 11,300 marriages in 2020, down by half compared to the previous year.
If the trend remains constant, it’s estimated that only 26 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women in Quebec will marry before their 50th birthday.
As for 2021—the Institute reports that the number of marriages in Quebec remains "below average," so far.