While cost-of-living issues and U.S. trade tensions have dominated discussions during the federal election campaign, a long-simmering issue is drawing concern among some experts who say the potential consequences warrant greater federal attention: Canada’s declining fertility rate and its long-term implications for population growth.
Canada’s birth rate has for decades been below the level needed to replace the population, with an even steeper decline in recent years, according to a recent report published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute titled “Baby Steps: How to reverse Canada’s falling fertility rates.”
While declining fertility is a global trend seen in other developed countries like the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, Canada now lags behind many of its peers in fertility.
Michelle Sabari always wanted to have six children. She started dating her husband in university and told him her plan — and he was game. By age 30, they were both finally done with school, had jobs and felt stable enough to start a family. Three kids came in four years, and they took a pause to regain their footing. But she didn’t feel “done” — 
Despite family-friendly social and economic policies, birthrates are falling in many rich countries. A recent article in the Financial Times notes that past declines were driven by families having fewer children, but now people are skipping having children altogether. “Nobody really knows what’s going on,” writes FT. “It’s not primarily driven by economics or family policies. It’s something cultural, 
