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Printed from The Vanier Institute of the Family's website at www.vifamily.ca. © 2007.
The Future Families Project: A Survey of Canadian Hopes and Dreams 
How do Canadians young and old feel about family life today? How do they feel about marriage and divorce? How many want to be part of a "traditional" family-meaning a married woman and man with children-and how many aspire to a different household arrangement? How will these feelings and desires shape Canadian society in the future? In Canada today we have a lot of facts and figures about what families do, but we don't know enough about how Canadians feel about family life, and what they want for the future. That's why the Vanier Institute of the Family commissioned a groundbreaking national survey to look into Canadian family values and aspirations. Almost 2,100 Canadians aged 18 and over participated in The Future Families Project: A Survey of Canadian Hopes and Dreams in 2003. Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge directed the Future Families Project. Dr. Bibby has monitored Canadian social trends for the past three decades through a series of national surveys of adults and teenagers-surveys he has written about in nine best-selling books. Today, the Vanier Institute of the Family releases Dr. Bibby's report on his findings from the Future Families survey. At least four key findings stand out: Finding #1: The Importance of Family The family continues to be of paramount importance to Canadians. Family is experienced in a wide variety of ways, but almost everyone sees it as indispensable. This should not surprise anyone, since we are all "walking data." We need only look at our own lives: our partners, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives matter to us. Family is simply at the heart of our lives. Finding #2: Our Hopes & Dreams are Traditional When it comes to family life, the hopes and dreams of Canadians are, for the most part, fairly traditional. The vast majority of Canadians aspire to marry, to have children who are happy and healthy, to be good parents, to have lasting relationships, to care for their aging parents, and, if necessary in their later years, to be cared for themselves. Even the teenagers of today have traditional aspirations; 90% of them say they plan to marry, have children, and stay with the same partner for the rest of their lives. Finding #3: The Reality is Often Far from Traditional For most people, the ideal of the traditional family is just that-an ideal. The reality is that, as life unfolds, things don't always work out as planned. People change or disappear, money and time are in short supply, the unexpected happens, and circumstances have to be dealt with. Along the way, what seemed readily attainable may become highly elusive. Nineteen percent of all participants in the Future Families survey have been either divorced or separated at some point in their lives, and the proportion rises to 25% for those aged 35 to 55. Still, people go on, often remarrying and trying to adjust to additional children or in-laws, while the kids get used to new siblings, new fathers, or new mothers. Meanwhile, older parents and grandparents just try to keep up with it all. Finding #4: Not Everyone Opts for the Traditional Not surprisingly, some people choose to experience family life in ways that are not traditional. Some consciously decide not to marry or not to have children. Some want children but do not want marriage or even a relationship. A sizeable number choose to establish same-sex relationships. And a relatively small number want to distance themselves from family members in favour of friends. Contrary to much of what is written and said about families today, the Vanier Institute's survey shows considerable consensus in the way Canadians conceptualize families, as well as in what they want from family life. Whether they want a traditional arrangement or not, Canadians still cherish family life and want it to work. The question is, how can we as a society help more people to have the kind of family life they want? 107 pp., 2004, $20.00
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