A new study reveals that thousands of kids across Canada have experienced parental incarceration — and that number is likely an underestimate.

Developed by a team of researchers from across the country, the CHIRP (Children with IncarceRated Parents) study is the first in Canada to systematically estimate the number of children impacted by parental incarceration. Nicole Catherine, Associate Director of the Children’s Health Policy Centre, was a co-investigator.

The research team identified nearly 170,000 children across five Canadian provinces who experienced parental incarceration between 2015 and 2021. They found that approximately 1 in 100 children (1.2%) per year in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan had been affected.

This study sheds light on a vulnerable population of young people made statistically invisible by a lack of data.

Parental incarceration undermines children’s rights — particularly their rights to family life and to have their best interests upheld. This underscores the need for policies that prioritize children’s best interests, including in sentencing, maintaining parent–child contact, and strengthening supports for affected children.

Parental incarceration is also considered an adverse childhood experience, and research shows that children who experience it tend to have worse mental and physical health than their peers. In order to support these children, policymakers and communities need access to valid data about them.

But prior to this study, there were no credible estimates of the number of children affected by parental incarceration in Canada.

According to the authors, this data gap has hindered “policy and program development, and public, political, and media interest” in these children.

The study stresses that even the statistics used to compile it have limitations, and the findings should be treated as minimum estimates — meaning many more children may be affected.

“While further research is needed to fully quantify the prevalence and burden of this adverse childhood experience, these minimum estimates can be used to raise awareness of the issue of parental incarceration in Canada,” the study concludes.

“Evolving evidence, including this study, is instrumental to advancing work to measure, prevent, and mitigate the harms associated with parental incarceration for children and families.”

Read the full paper to learn more.