Economic family

Status: This standard was approved as a departmental standard on July 31, 2026.

Definition

Economic family refers to a group of two or more persons who live in the same household and are related to each other through biological, couple, adoptive or foster relationships.

Examples of an economic family include two co-resident census families who are related to one another, co-resident siblings who are not members of a census family, or a niece or nephew living with their aunt or uncle.

All members of a given census family belong to the same economic family, as well as any other household members who are related to at least one member of the census family. In households with no census families present, all related persons in the household form an economic family.

Relation to previous version

• Economic family July 31, 2026 to current

  The definition of the statistical unit "economic family" has been modified.
  

• Economic family May 26, 2021 to July 30, 2026

  The definition of the statistical unit has been modified.

• Economic family November 16, 2015 to May 25, 2021

  In the previous standard, the inclusion of foster children was listed separately from the list of ways in which persons in an economic family can be related. This standard adds persons who are related to each other by a foster relationship to the list of possible relationships for this statistical unit.

• Economic family February 20, 2006 to November 15, 2015

  The previous standard made no reference to same-sex couples. The addition of the words "a couple may be of opposite or same sex" reflects the established practice of including same-sex common-law couples and recognizes that same-sex couples can also be married.
  
  In the previous standard, foster children were not included.

• Economic family July 15, 1998 to February 19, 2006

  This was the departmental standard from July 15, 1998 to February 19, 2006.