TORONTO - Jane and Samuel are a pretty typical couple.
They met in their late 20s through mutual friends. It took a couple of years of running into each other at parties before the Toronto couple started dating and fell in love, but they've been inseparable ever since.
Now in their 50s, they've been together 24 years and say they couldn't be happier.
But, unlike most people their age, they never got married.
While couples like Jane and Samuel are still in the minority, their numbers are increasing in leaps and bounds, particularly for people in their age group and older.
Census figures released show that 15.5 per cent of couples, or 2.8 million Canadians, were in common-law relationships in 2006, a 19 per cent growth since 2001.
Although the greatest proportion of people in common-law unions is under 30, in recent years, older age groups have experienced the most rapid growth. Gains have been especially fast during the past five years among people in their 40s and older. The numbers show that the fastest pace of all age groups has been among people aged 60 to 64.
These numbers shouldn't surprise anyone, particularly as the baby boom generation ages, said Clarence Lochhead, executive director of the Ottawa-based Vanier Institute of the Family.
"As this boomer population moves into its senior years and ages, seniors will be out there, they will be at workplaces, they will be in their communities, they will be participating in volunteer activities, they will be surfing the net, perhaps using dating services,'' said Lochhead.
But there's more to the increase in common-law relationships among older couples than simple demographics, he added.
"There has been a fundamental change in the way people think about common-law unions. It has become much more of a personal choice,'' he said.
"In the past, the decisions to marry were based in many instances on the need for economic security for women or simply to satisfy the community's expectations or the expectations of one's parents or to confer legitimacy on children or even to avoid the disapproval of the church, and all of those things have in some sense lost their importance.''
Statistics Canada says another factor is that people who began living together in their 20s are continuing the arrangement as they grow older without marriage.
This was certainly the case for Jane and Samuel, who asked that their last names not be used. They say their parents never pressured them to marry and their friends never expressed more than "curiosity'' about their decision.
"My parents never even questioned it or commented on it at all, to be honest,'' said Samuel. "They just figured that's the way it was. I have five other siblings and they all got married off, so I managed to avoid any pressure.''
Samuel added that he never felt any desire to get married, and he resented his previous three partners for putting pressure on him to say "I do.''
"It was a breath of fresh air to be going out with somebody who didn't want to get married,'' he said. "And one thing just led to another and why wreck a good thing, you know?''
Statistics Canada says Canadians who divorce may be more likely to chose a common-law relationship next time, suggesting people still desire to be part of a couple but may be less interested in remarriage.
Jane was married before, in her early 20s, and she said that experience was an important factor in her decision to not marry again.
"I think for me the main reason was because I'd done it before and that wasn't a really happy experience for me, so it wasn't like I was dying to repeat that,'' she said.
"I just felt that it wasn't going to make much difference in terms of our commitment to one another, because I feel we're a very committed couple.''
Lochhead said this is a common experience for older couples in common-law relationships.
"We are seeing that more people are separating and more people are divorcing, but we also know at the same time that people still fundamentally aspire to be part of a couple,'' he said, adding that the majority of older people in common-law relationships were previously married.
Zheng Wu, a sociologist with the University of Victoria, said financial considerations may be another factor in people's decisions to cohabit instead of marry.
"For a first marriage or remarriage for older people, there are many complications,'' he said. "Financially, there's inheritance issues against marriage, particularly in the presence of children. So that gives people more economic incentive to cohabit as opposed to getting married.''
While economic factors may have some impact on people's decisions to remain unmarried, Lochhead said he would be surprised if that was the main consideration for most people.
"When people make decisions about relationships, primarily what they're interested in are not economic factors,'' he said. "They're looking for partners who give them companionship, who give them love, who are honest and trustworthy.''
Jane and Samuel never had children, and say they simply never saw the point in getting married.
"We're outlasting many marriages,'' Jane said, laughing. "I don't think it would make us any more committed to one another than we already are.''
And there's something about not being married that keeps things exciting, added Samuel.
"When we go out anywhere it seems like we're going out on a date, even now.''
