Wednesday December 31, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
The number of births in British Columbia steadily declined from 2017 to 2023.
In 2024 the number of births in BC was back to the 2019 pre-pandemic level, but not as high as seen in 2017 and 2018.
The BC birth tally for this year (the current published tally is only to December 15, 2025) may end up close to the total for 2024.
Births in the Province of British Columbia, Canada [2017-2025]
| Year | Births in BC |
| 2025 | 41,557 (to Dec 15, 2025) |
| 2024 | 43,972 |
| 2023 | 41,403 |
| 2022 | 41,833 |
| 2021 | 42,783 |
| 2020 | 42,413 |
| 2019 | 43,878 |
| 2018 | 44,050 |
| 2017 | 45,045 |
| Date Source: Vital Statistics BC | Table by: Island Social Trends (Dec 31, 2025) |
However, births as a portion of the overall population (which is now larger in 2025 compared to 2019), may be consistent for 2024 and 2025. [Population calculations to come.]
Affordability and economic uncertainty:
The general decline from 2017 and through the COVID pandemic shut down and recovery years likely reflected continued affordability challenges for many young adults.
The continued cost of living challenges include the cost of housing/renting, groceries, transportation, child care, and reliance on digital technology as the new norm for society and workplace.
The cost of insurance for homeowners, renters and businesses has continually increased as earthquake, flood and property damage coverage has become an embedded cost in just about everything.
In addition to the actual cost of things, the uncertainties about finding stable well-paid work is likely also a contributing factor to decision-making for young adults planning to start a family or have more children.
Canadian immigration and in-migration to BC:
Government has said in recent years that natural replacement of the population is expected to reach net zero by 2030 and that the overall population is aging.
Immigration of new residents to Canada ha been a government policy for years — to help support the economy. But those numbers now have been cut back as cities catch up with housing and social (health and education) infrastructure.
In-migration to British Columbia (from other parts of Canada) had been on the upswing for the last few years. About 250,000 people moved to BC in 2021 and 2022 combined, a trend which continued into 2023 but slowed down in 2024 likely due to the cost of living in BC’s urban centres being higher than almost anywhere else in the country and jobs not easily found.
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