Marriage remains a relatively strong social institution in Canada. In 1997 about fifteen million Canadian adults were married or living in common-law relationships, while about 1.5 million were widowed (that is, their spouse had died and they had not remarried), and 1.3 million were divorced.

Along with marriage, another cultural convention is to live in a single-family dwelling: in 1996, 57% of Canada's households (representing 64% of the population) were in single-detached houses, and only 9% (representing 6% of the population) were in apartment buildings.

An "economic family" is a group of individuals sharing a common dwelling who are related by blood, adoption, or marriage (including common-law relationships). In 1997, the average annual income of an economic family in Canada was $C 57,146 ($US 39,125). This average fluctuates significantly across the country; the northern territories, Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta report the highest annual incomes. The cost of living is highest in the northern territories (where transportation of goods and services increases prices) and in the southern and especially the southern-metropolitan areas of Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London), and British Columbia (Vancouver, Victoria).

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the last three months of 1999 was $C 976.7 billion ($US 670 billion). Average weekly earnings for a Canadian in January 2000 were $C 619 ($US 423). The unemployment rate in April 2000 was 6.8%. The prime interest rate charged for borrowing money was 7.00%

In 1997, two divorces occurred for every five marriages. The highest rate of divorce is in Quebec, where there are three divorces for every four marriages, and the lowest is in Newfoundland and the northern territories, where there are fewer than three divorces for every ten marriages.

The average size of a family in Canada was 3.7 in 1971 and 3.0 in 1997. About 15.5% of all families live below the poverty line in Canada, compared to 18.7% percent in the USA; 10.5% of Canadian couples with children and 30% of all families in which the parents are less than 25 years old live below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, 52% of single-parent families live below the poverty line where the single parent is female. (This compares to 59.8% percent in the U.S.A.) According to the 1996 census, 14.5% of all Canadian families were one-parent families. The rate was highest in Nova Scotia (20.8%) and lowest in Alberta (12.8%), and it was lower in Ontario and the West than in Québec and Atlantic Canada. Among the cities, Montréal had the highest rate - 17.4%.