Canadians feel marriage is important

The number of Canadians who believe that marriage is important is on the rise, despite the fact that many people from the country think that the institution has lost its standing as an integral part of society.

That is according to a new survey from the Canadian Press in conjunction with pollster Harris-Decima, which found that 41 per cent of those questioned said that they felt marriage is now more important to them personally than it has been in the past.

However, 53 per cent of respondents said that they believe marriage has become less important to Canadian society as a whole over the last 20 years, the Canadian Press reports.

The survey also found that most people believe that it is more difficult to make a marriage work in today's society than it would have been in the past, and that a two-parent family is the best environment in which to bring up a child.

Bruce Anderson, president of Harris-Decima, commented: "At one in the same time, many Canadians feel that marriage is a good and important institution, but recognize and are comfortable with the fact that not everyone needs to feel the same way.

"What's unique, I think, about Canadians in this context is that even as they can characterize that kind of shift in society they don't seem to be angst ridden about it."