Who’s Hitched? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Partnering in Canada

Using data from the 2008 to 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), we explore compositional differences between single, common-law, and married individuals by sexual orientation in Canada. Specifically, we focus on how single versus partnered lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals differ in sociodemographic characteristics, education, hours worked, and health relative to their heterosexual counterparts. While same-sex unions and parenthood have increased considerably over the last two decades, LGB individuals are less likely to be married or to live in a household with children under the age of 12, relative to heterosexuals. Heterosexual men benefit the most from marriage, whether through productivity, positive selection, or cultural norms of the ideal worker. This is especially the case in terms of employment and earnings. Having children under the age of 12 in the household was strongly correlated with partnership for all LGB people, especially for married gay men. Overall, there were fewer correlates of partnership for LGB people than heterosexuals, suggesting greater diversity in who is partnered and to whom, within the LGB community, than for heterosexuals.