THE MAKE-UP OF THE MODERN FAMILY IN CANADA IS CHANGING. THAT'S ACCORDING TO NEW INFORMATION FROM THE 2011 CENSUS. SO HOW DOES KINGSTON COMPARE? AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CITY. KINGSTON RESIDENTS FALL RIGHT IN LINE WITH THE  NATIONAL AVERAGE.  IT SEEMS THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL TRENDS THAT ARE AFFECTING NUMBERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, ARE THE SAME IN KINGSTON HOMES.

BIANCA BRUNI IS PART OF A IN A GROWING TREND. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST CENSUS FIGURES, 20 PERCENT OF KINGSTON FAMILIES  ARE CONSIDERED TO BE COMMON LAW.

"AND I MEAN CERTAINLY IN A NUMBER OF CASES SUCH AS OURS A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH ECONOMICS."

AND SHE'S RIGHT. A KINGSTON PROFESSOR SAYS THE STATS CAN NUMBERS ARE PROOF OF THE CHANGING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL TRENDS.

"I THINK IT'S INTERESTING FOR THE PUBLIC TO ACTUALLY SEE HOW CANADIAN SOCIETY IS CHANGING, IN ACTUAL NUMBERS AS OPPOSED TO ANECDOTALLY."

THERE ARE 350 SAME SEX COUPLES LIVING IN KINGSTON, COMPARED WITH 64 THOUSAND ACROSS CANADA. NUMBERS THAT NEARLY TRIPLED FROM 2006. ROSENBERG SAYS IT'S PARTIALLY DUE TO THE LEGAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH SAME SEX MARRIAGES.

"BACK WHEN THEY CHANGED THE DIVORCE LAWS, ALL OF THE SUDDEN WE SAW CHANGES IN FAMILY STRUCTURES."

KINGSTON IS HOME TO 27 THOUSAND FAMILIES, OF WHICH CLOSE TO 6 THOUSAND ARE RUN BY SINGLE PARENTS. ROSENBERG SAYS THOSE NUMBERS ALONG WITH KINGSTON'S AGING POPULATION ARE STATISTICS CITY OFFICIALS NEED TO CONSIDER MORE CLOSELY.

"WE SHOULDN'T LOOSE SIGHT OF WHO ARE THE VULNERABLE PARTS OF THE POPULATION IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT MAKES THEM VULNERABLE."

AS FOR WHAT NEXT YEAR'S CENSUS WILL LOOK LIKE, BRUNI SAYS HER GENERATION IS DIFFERENT, THE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.

"WE'RE STILL VERY MUCH A FAMILY, I WOULD SAY JUST THE SAME AS OUR FRIENDS WHO ARE MARRED AND HAVE FAMILIES THAT WAY BUT, OUR PRIORITIES BEEN MORE ON THE FAMILY UNIT, RATHER THAN THE TITLE OF THE FAMILY UNIT."