The Foundations of Canadian Families

The attributes and functionings of Canadian families through-out our centuries have impacted, and continue to impact our society through continuity, diversity and change. “A family is a microsocial group that reciprocally links and reflects other macro-level institutions of society” (Mitchell, 2017 p. 4). The Standard North American Family (SNAF) gave an ideological perspective on what the “typical” family is in North America looks like. However, it doesn’t apply to all families due to being characterized by continuity, diversity and social change. “[R]epresentations of families [as the SNAF] are not reflective of reality and the variability that occurs within families” (Mitchell, 2017. p.7).

Canadian families have remained similar throughout our history by classifying others as family members. Even though the social construct of a family has changed and will continue to do so, it will not change one’s perspective on whom they believe their family members are. Our society has adopted new perspectives of families to accommodate Canadians by redefining the definition of the Canadian family. “According to Statistics Canada, there were 9.8 million Census families living across Canada in 2016” (A Snapshot of Family Diversity in Canada, 2018). Although families have evolved, they still hold the key values of intimate and loving relationships.

Families are characterized by the diverse attributes they entail, and are influenced by others when they are subjected into society. Family structures have evolved and have opened societies perspective on families to not only limiting a family to being a heterosexual married couple with children. In 2011, 33% of Canadian families were either single-parent or common-law families (Statistics Canada, 2011). As children go through their years of education, they will have peers who have single parent families, common-law families, same-sex marriage families, different cultural backgrounds, etc. This affects Canadian families in understanding our diverse families in Canadian through socialization as they evolve throughout the years to come. We have the freedom of choice to have our own children, however Statistics Canada included a married couple without children falls under the category of a census family (Statistics Canada, 2012).

Canadian families has changed throughout history by promoting the diversity and change within family structures. Between 1940-1960, “The Family was the basic institution of society and that it was a social and economic unit consisting of two adults of the opposite sex who shared economic resources, sexual intimacy, labour, accomodation, reproduction, and child-rearing” (e.g., see Goode, 1963; Murdock 1949). Statistics Canada (2012) and The Vanier Institute of the Family (2016: 1) redefined the meaning of families in Canada to accommodate all diverse census families. This change affects our larger society by whom is entitled to benefits and entitlements by government funding (Mitchell, 2017, p. 7).

The attributes and functionings of Canadian families through-out our centuries have impacted, and continue to impact our society through continuity, diversity and social change. Despite the fact that family structures have evolved, the human reliance on affection and love between one another has remained the same. The definition of families has alternated over time, to allow all diverse families feel acknowledged in our society.

- Sarah

References

Mitchell, Barbara A., (2017)

Family Matters: an introduction to family sociology in Canada

The Changing Face of Canadian Families (2019) Retrieved from;

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/human-rights-and-family-ontario/changing-face-canadian-families

The Vanier Institute of the Family (February 2018) A Snapshot of Family Diversity in Canada

Retrieved from;

https://vanierinstitute.ca/snapshot-family-diversity-canada-february-2018/