Statistics Canada reported that Quebec recorded 78,200 births in 2025, an increase of 974 births over the 77,226 recorded the previous year. The province’s fertility rate, which stood at 1.35 in 2024, rose slightly in 2025, indicating a modest improvement in births per woman.
The 2025 figures represent the first year since 2021 that the province experienced a year‑over‑year rise in births, ending a three‑year stretch of decline that followed the pandemic’s onset. Although the numbers have moved upward, they remain well below the levels seen before COVID‑19 disrupted demographic patterns.
The modest growth translates to a rise of just under 1.3 percent, underscoring that the change, while positive, is relatively small. Even with the uptick, Quebec’s fertility rate continues to sit far beneath the replacement threshold of 2.1, a benchmark needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.
Demographers note that the slight increase may reflect a gradual return to family planning among younger adults, but they caution that broader economic and social factors still limit larger gains. The province’s aging population and ongoing out‑migration of younger residents continue to weigh on overall birth numbers.
Statistics Canada will keep tracking these trends as part of its annual demographic reporting, providing data that provincial policymakers use to shape family‑support programs and long‑term planning.