Marriage
We suggest:
- Marriage is a key institution that seeks to integrate sex, parenthood, economic cooperation, and emotional intimacy into a permanent union.
- Healthy and stable marriages and families are both a private and a public good.
- Canadians should understand, value, and promote healthy and stable marriages and families.
- We recognize and study Canada’s diversity of family structures.
- We recognize that family membership and relationships are a defining feature of the lives of most Canadians.
Supporting Research
Start Here
Susan Martinuk
September 29, 2016
As governments and individuals struggle to make informed and well-considered public policy decisions on the issue of healthcare it is becoming increasingly important that they take into account the state of Canadian marriages. Marriage is Good for Your Health examines more than 50 published, empirical studies on the correlation between marital status and health. An overwhelming majority of the studies indicates that married couples are happier, healthier, and live longer than those who are not married. Moreover, there is strong research to back the conclusion that the quality of a marriage is a critical variable in the health benefits that couples enjoy.
Peter Jon Mitchell,
Lita L. Day
October 21, 2021
Why do some young adults choose to marry and others do not?
Peter Jon Mitchell
June 23, 2021
A Cardus research brief highlighting unpartnered young adults and the decline of fertility in Canada.
Explorations
June 11, 2020
Join us for a webinar to examine the changing Canadian family and explore what the pandemic may mean for the future of marriage.
Rebecca Darwent
July 17, 2019
Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent finds comfort that her wedding this spring wasn’t about saying “yes” to the dress. It was about affirming before God a faithful life with her husband-to-be.
May 29, 2019
Click here for an event summary.
Media Coverage
November 27, 2022
What will follow "the great pandemic pause on family formation" in Canada? Declining marriage rates are the result of private decisions, as they should be, but they "have public consequences," writes Peter Jon Mitchell, family program director at Cardus.
Photo by cindy baffour on Unsplash
November 4, 2021
Peter Jon Mitchell, Program Director for Cardus Family, speaks with Sean Speer at The Hub about our latest report on marriage: For Love or Money? Why Partnered Young Adults Marry ... or Don't.
November 3, 2021
"It’s no secret that marriage has been on the decline in Canada for decades. Young adults are increasingly cohabiting or living unpartnered, and they view marriage as nice but unnecessary for a fulfilling family life. So why do many Canadian young adults still choose to marry? Conversely, why are some resolutely against getting married?" writes Peter Jon Mitchell.
Marriage
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What else are we working toward?
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects