Albertans not likely to live alone, tend to live with parents: StatCan

New data from Statistics Canada suggests Alberta is the province with the second lowest percentage of residents who live on their own.

According to the data, released on Wednesday, just 13 per cent of adults in Alberta lived alone in 2021. Ontario was the only province to report a lower share, sitting at 12 per cent.

The lowest percentage of adults living solo in Canada was found in Nunavut (eight per cent) while the highest share was in Quebec (19 per cent), as has been the case since 1996.

Statistics Canada found solo dwelling is on the rise in Canada, with 4.4 million people living alone in 2021, up from just 1.7 million 40 years earlier.

"This represented 15 per cent of all adults aged 15 and older in private households in 2021, the highest share on record," Statistics Canada said in a posting Wednesday.

The government agency notes that despite the increase, the prevalence of one-person households is "relatively low" in Canada from an international perspective, representing about three in 10 households (29.3 per cent) in 2021.

"Among G7 countries, only the United States had a slightly smaller share (28.5 per cent in 2021)."

MORE ALBERTANS LIVING WITH THEIR PARENTS

The data also suggests more young adults in Alberta's major centres are living with at least one parent than ever before.

Most of the cities to experience the largest growth in the proportion of young adults living with their parents were in Alberta, including Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton which saw increases of seven per cent, five per cent and four per cent respectively between 2016 and 2021.

"However, the prevalence remained highest in Ontario's large urban centres, particularly Oshawa, where nearly half (49 per cent) of young adults lived with their parents in 2021," said Statistics Canada.

The spike in adults living with a parent in Alberta coincides with some of the largest declines in economic activity recorded during the first year of the pandemic.

"In the face of job loss, fewer job opportunities or fewer hours worked, some young adults may have chosen to stay in the parental home or move back in with their parents for a period of time," the agency said.

SO WHY LIVE WITH YOUR FOLKS?

Alberta faces unique short-term forces that have effected living situations in recent years, says Mount Royal University economics professor Anupam Das.

"Alberta's market changes with many things, one of which is the oil price. We are seeing more volatility in Alberta's (housing) market," Dassaid.

He says there is a housing supply and demand mismatch, which could contribute to young adults choosing to remain living in a family home.

"Not only has the demand for rental properties went up in the last half-a-year or so, but at the same time, the supply of rental properties actually went down.”

He adds, the Bank of Canada's recent increase to the interest rate is also causing mortgages to be more expensive for young adults looking to enter the housing market.

Brynna Doucette, 23, has five years of post-secondary education and has not moved out of her parent's house as a cost-savings measure.

She is working full-time in the summer to help save for a home, and says her peers and siblings are in no rush to move out for security concerns.

Doucette says the cost-of-living and climbing prices of goods and services will likely keep her at home for the next handful of years.

"In my mind I'm like, 'why wouldn't you live at home if you have the opportunity, and milk that for as long as you can?' Because now I am also saving money," Doucette said. "I make money for my jobs, I put it into a tax-free savings account or my savings account, and that way I can save, so once I am done school (I can) buy a house or rent an apartment.

"It's just too expensive to do anything so that's why I like living at home."