How Many Canadians Have a Will? (Statistics 2026)

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Only about 35 percent of Canadians have a will that is up to date, and roughly half have no will at all. The gap is widest among younger adults, the group most likely to say they are simply too young to worry about it.

This page collects the key numbers on how many Canadians have a will, broken down by age, province and reason. Each figure links to a source below. Updated June 2026.

Contents:

The headline share

1. Only 35 percent have a current will

In a national survey, just 35 percent of Canadians said they had an up-to-date will that reflected their wishes.1

2. 51 percent have no will at all

More than half of Canadian adults, 51 percent, said they had no will whatsoever.2

3. 15 percent have an outdated will

A further 15 percent had a will that was out of date, for example one that predated a marriage, divorce or the birth of a child. An outdated will can be as much trouble as none at all.3

Will statusShare of Canadian adults
Up-to-date will35 percent
Outdated will15 percent
No will at all51 percent

By age

4. Only 15 percent of young adults are covered

Among adults aged 18 to 34, only about 15 percent had a current will, by far the lowest of any age group.4

5. Middle age is still under half

For those aged 35 to 54, the share with a current will rose to roughly 29 percent, still a minority during the years when people have young children and mortgages.5

6. The majority appears only at 55 and over

Only among those aged 55 and over does a will become the norm, with about 58 percent reporting a current one.6

Age groupShare with an up-to-date will
18 to 34about 15 percent
35 to 54about 29 percent
55 and overabout 58 percent

By province and group

7. Quebec and British Columbia lead

The share with a will is highest in provinces such as Quebec, where about 58 percent reported having one, and British Columbia, at around 54 percent.7

8. Men slightly more likely than women

About 53 percent of men reported having a will of some kind, compared with 46 percent of women, a gap linked partly to age and income differences.8

9. Higher income, more likely a will

People with higher household incomes are much more likely to have a will. Among those earning under $50,000, only about 41 percent had one.9

Why people do not make one

10. "Too young" leads the list

The most common reason for not having a will is feeling too young to worry about it, cited by 25 percent of Canadians and by nearly half of those aged 18 to 34.10

11. "Not enough assets" comes next

Some 23 percent said they did not have enough assets to make a will worthwhile, even though intestacy can complicate even modest estates.11

12. Cost and avoidance also play a role

Others pointed to the perceived cost of a lawyer or simply not wanting to think about dying. Women cited cost as a barrier nearly twice as often as men.12

The "not enough assets" myth: Even a modest estate, a bank account, a car, a pension, still has to be distributed. Without a will, provincial intestacy rules decide who gets it, and a common-law partner may receive nothing. See dying without a will.

What is at stake

13. A handwritten will is enough in most provinces

Making a will need not be expensive. A holographic (handwritten) will is valid without witnesses in most provinces. See holographic wills in Canada and how to write a will.13

14. The wealth transfer makes it urgent

With roughly $1 trillion set to pass between generations, the cost of not having a will, in disputes and unintended outcomes, has never been higher. See how much Canadians inherit and average net worth in Canada.14

The lesson behind these numbers: most Canadians know a will matters, yet most put it off, usually for reasons that do not hold up. For a guided start, read how to write a will, choose a will template for Canada, or see the full picture in will statistics in Canada.

Sources

  1. 1Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  2. 2Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  3. 3Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  4. 4Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  5. 5Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  6. 6Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  7. 7Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  8. 8Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  9. 9Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  10. 10Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  11. 11Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  12. 12Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
  13. 13Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (canada.ca)
  14. 14CBC News / CPA Canada (cbc.ca)
Max Kuch

About the author

Max Kuch

Max Kuch has spent years studying estate law, succession planning and the consumer questions that surround inheritance. For Get a Will he gathers and summarizes the leading data from Statistics Canada, the OECD and other authoritative bodies, and presents the numbers in a clear, accessible way.

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Frequently asked questions

The draft itself is a wording aid and is not yet a valid will. A will becomes valid once you copy it out entirely in your own handwriting and sign it. In most provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia) a fully handwritten, signed will (a holograph will) is valid with no witnesses. In British Columbia and Prince Edward Island a holograph will is not recognized, so you must sign in front of two witnesses instead. Our draft is a template for you to copy out by hand.

For a holograph will, Canadian provinces that recognize it (such as Ontario under the Succession Law Reform Act and Quebec under article 726 of the Civil Code of Quebec) require the entire text to be in the will-maker's own handwriting and signed by them. A printed or computer-typed document does not qualify as a holograph will, so it would only be valid if signed in front of two witnesses.

Canada has no forced heirship, so in principle you can leave your estate to whomever you choose. However, every province has dependants' relief (in Quebec, the survival of the obligation to provide support): a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child who was not adequately provided for can ask a court to vary the will and award them support from the estate. Our draft helps you take close family into account when wording your wishes.

Keep the original somewhere safe and make sure your executor knows where it is. For extra security you can leave it with your lawyer or notary, or register it with a provincial wills registry where one exists (for example British Columbia's Wills Registry through Vital Statistics, or Quebec's register of testamentary dispositions). The most important thing is that it can actually be found after you pass away.

It is usually best for each spouse or partner to make their own separate will, often with matching (mirror) provisions that leave everything to each other and then to the children. A single joint document can create complications, so most lawyers in Canada recommend two individual wills. Our tool creates an individual draft for each of you.

Yes, at any time. You can update, add to or completely revoke your will. The simplest approach is to write a new will that states it revokes all previous wills, then date and sign it the same way. Destroying the old original also helps avoid confusion.

No. Our service creates a will draft as a wording aid. If you have a complex estate, own a business, have a blended or common-law family, or own property in more than one province or country, we recommend also speaking with a wills and estates lawyer (or a notary in Quebec).

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