Canadian Abortion Statistics

Facts and figures relating to the frequency of abortion in Canada

Abortion statistics for Canada are available from Statistics Canada. Their latest report, giving data for 2005, revealed the following:

Canadian women obtained fewer induced abortions in 2005 compared with the previous year, and the decline occurred mostly among teenage women under 20.
A total of 96,815 induced abortions were performed on Canadian women in 2005, down 3.2 % from 100,039 in 2004. As a result, the induced abortion rate edged down from 14.6 abortions in 2004 for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, to 14.1 in 2005.
Induced abortion rates fell in every age group, except among women aged 35 to 39, where it remained the same.
Women under 20 experienced the largest decline in rates from 13.8 for every 1000 women in 2004 to 13.0 in 2005. The induced abortion rate for these women has declined gradually since 1996 when it peaked at 18.9.
The number of induced abortions for every 100 live births fell to 28.3 in 2005 from 29.7 in 2004.
Induced abortion rates remained about the same, or increased, among women in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and in the combined Nunavut, Yukon, and Northwest Territories. They declined in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Induced abortions continued to be most common among women in their early 20s. They accounted for 31% of all women who obtained an induced abortion in 2005. On average, 28 women out of every 1,000 aged 20 to 24 obtained an induced abortion.