The unmarried thirtysomething is a rising star in the West. Some of them might be in common-law relationships, some may have kids, but many of them won’t have either. The future on the horizon is one of greater solitude, an affliction that will likely cost us political stability and economic success, on top of general well-being.

This is an acute issue in Canada: the most recent set of odds given by Statistics Canada peg a person’s chances of ever marrying at a mere 44 per cent — that’s down from 74 per cent in 1991.