Beyond Birth Rates: Advancing a Pro-Alignment Approach to Low Fertility in North America

Montreal (Quebec), Canada, 20 August 2026

 

Organized by: 

The conference, entitled “Beyond Birth Rates:
Advancing a Pro-Alignment Approach to Low Fertility in North America”, was held in hybrid format at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) on 20 August 2026. The event featured 13 presentations from leading demographers, family scholars, economists, reproductive health researchers, and policy analysts from across North America to explore how we can face our demographic future with facts, not fear. Speakers highlighted an evidence-based approach to developing policies that respect reproductive autonomy, advance gender and racial equality, and support all types of families.

 

 

The first session contrasted a pro-natalist approach to low fertility with a “pro-alignment” approach that aims to 1) help individuals align their fertility outcomes with their fertility desires and 2) develop population policies that align with existing population sizes and structures and reflect the growing diversity of contemporary families.

 

The second session corrected common misunderstandings and misperceptions about demographic measures and methods and provided a broader, more balanced understanding of the macroeconomic effects of fertility decline.

 

In the afternoon, experts in the third session examined the challenges to meeting personal fertility goals, including increased restrictions on access to contraception and abortion care, the uncertainty and expectations facing young adults contemplating parenthood, and the additional barriers experienced by 2SLGBTQI people.

 

The fourth session addressed the three key areas of pro-alignment population policies: 1) comprehensive reproductive rights and health, 2) inclusive family policies, and 3) demographic resilience.

 

 

The event concluded with a call for a new approach to population change that rests on innovative demographic measures and analyses and that centers on individuals’ experiences, rights, and well-being.

 

This event attracted widespread interest with over 100 people participating in person and 200 viewing online.  If you missed it, you can see the full program along with a video recording of the presentations here.

 

Over the next two years, the  IUSSP Scientific Panel on Aligning Population Policies with Low Fertility will host regional conferences, webinars, and other collaborative activities focused topics related to low fertility.  If you are interested in being engaged in future “pro-alignment” discussions and initiatives, let us know by completing this short form: Pro-Alignment Engagement Survey