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Quebec profoundly transformed fatherhood by instituting leave exclusively reserved for fathers, normalizing their presence with newborns and shifting social norms. But this progress remains partial: it mainly focuses on birth, without structurally supporting paternal involvement or correcting persistent asymmetries between mothers and fathers. In other words, Quebec fatherhood is both an institutional success and a work in progress.
In a progressive nation like Quebec, we sometimes forget that barely a generation ago, the role of fathers was still very limited. They were mainly expected to work, provide household income and be there for their children when they could.
Today, 73 per cent of fathers take paternity leave when their child is born, and their temporary withdrawal from the labour market to provide care is now the norm; their presence with the baby is no longer marginal or exceptional.
The rapid transformation of fatherhood in Quebec is not the result of a simple spontaneous change in male attitudes, nor is it the result of men adjusting to the majority presence of mothers of young children in the labour market. It stems from a collective choice, enshrined in our family policy, and more specifically in the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, which provides benefits reserved for fathers.
The Quebec model is distinctive, but remains partial, as it supports fathers only during the first 18 months of their newborns’ lives. Despite undeniable progress, Quebec fatherhood still has blind spots.
Here are three observations that illustrate how the Quebec model is exemplary, but still partial.
Observation 1: Quebec, a North American exception
Since 2006, Quebec has been the only jurisdiction in North America to offer dedicated paternity benefits that are separate from parental benefits and non-transferable to the mother. Research shows that the use of paternity leave has positive effects on gender equality and marital stability that extend beyond the period of leave.
The program also has positive effects on how fathers perceive their role. In Quebec, fatherhood is defined primarily by being a role model for one’s child (48 per cent), while in the rest of Canada, it remains more closely associated with the role of provider (43 per cent). Quebec is seen as exceptional mainly because it is compared to the United States, the only developed country without a national paid parental leave program, and to the rest of Canada, which remains unambitious on an international scale.
An international comparison puts Quebec into perspective. In Sweden, the system provides for 480 days of parental leave per child, including 240 days per parent, with 90 non-transferable days reserved for each parent, or approximately 13 weeks guaranteed for fathers. In Iceland, each parent has an individual right to approximately six months of paid leave, or nearly 26 weeks, with very limited transferability.
In these countries, fathers are not only encouraged to get involved: they are institutionally expected to do so, and for a much longer period, which has a lasting impact on parenting practices. It should also be noted that the length of time spent out of the labour market is shorter for men who take parental leave—10.3 weeks on average—compared to 45.2 weeks for women.
Observation 2: Fatherhood has fewer costs than motherhood
In terms of work, the onset of fatherhood remains associated with an increase in men’s participation in the labour market. In other words, becoming a father reinforces the role of breadwinner: fathers work more, especially when their children are young.
This effect tends to diminish as children grow older and contrasts sharply with that observed among mothers, for whom the arrival of a child remains associated with time constraints and weakening career trajectories.
But the advantage of fatherhood is not limited to employment. Data from the Institut de la statistique du Québec’s 2022 Quebec survey on parenthood consistently showed that fewer fathers than mothers find parenting difficult. More specifically, they are less likely to report high levels of parental stress, difficulty parenting, an extremely demanding pace of life, or frequently putting pressure on themselves. These differences appear even as fathers are more involved in family life, suggesting that the subjective social cost of parental involvement remains lower for men.
Observation 3: Fathers remain partially invisible
For a long time, research on family and social policy has focused primarily on motherhood. This choice was necessary but normalized a collateral effect: fathers were thought of as the second parent. On the mothers’ side, the literature has produced a rich conceptual toolkit: the motherhood penalty (loss of income, career slowdowns), the motherhood ceiling (barriers to access to positions of responsibility), the maternal wall (organizational barriers based on the perception of reduced availability), intensive motherhood (social norm of high parental investment), and mental load (invisible cognitive and organizational work).
In comparison, the scientific literature on fathers remains sparse. Sometimes a fatherhood bonus (the association between being a father and higher earnings) is mentioned – a reminder of the persistence of traditional masculine norms. Penalties for taking parental leave or reducing working hours exist, but they are underexamined in the literature. This asymmetry contributes to making tensions specific to fathers invisible, leaving them without a shared language to name their constraints, dilemmas, and the effects of their commitment to parenting.
Fatherhood in Quebec: valued, but not normalized
The paradox of fatherhood in Quebec lies in the fact that it is now highly valued, without being fully considered normal. To be supported in their role, fathers require specific measures, such as paternity leave. Conversely, mothers do not need measures reserved exclusively for them because they still embody the implicit norm of being the default parent.
Paternity benefits have transformed behaviour and shifted norms – while framing fathers’ involvement for a limited period of five weeks during the first 18 months of a child’s life.
What should Quebec do with $900 million in parental leave surpluses?
A recent measure by Quebec’s parental insurance management board encourages the sharing of benefits beyond the weeks reserved for fathers, and fathers are embracing it.
However, paternity remains supported almost exclusively at the start. Once this phase is over, fathers largely disappear from the field of public policy and data production, with concrete effects.
We know how to count fathers at birth and during leave, but much less when trajectories become more complex, such as during separation, shared custody, single fatherhood, or grandparenthood.
This bias also affects mothers, but in a different way. They experience social pressure to maintain the maternal role along with a lack of public support, keeping them in the position of default parent.
The question is no longer whether fathers are involved, but whether our public policies are ready to take seriously the norm they have helped to create. This requires concrete choices that have a real impact on the lives of families. This means offering longer, better-paid paternity leave that cannot be transferred to the mother to ensure long-term paternal involvement.
We must also work hard with employers to normalize men’s involvement in parenting. Finally, better statistical tools are needed to document the full range of paternal experience, from the desire to have children to grandparenthood.
