Despite recent changes in the trends of international adoption, China is still a recommended destination for Canadian families looking to adopt a child from a different country, according to an international adoption organization.
Canadians looking to adopt internationally have often looked towards China but this has led to a shift in the availability of children.
"The number of children waiting for families in China has declined while the number of families wanting to adopt in China has increased," Martha Maslen, executive director of Children's Bridge told CTV's Canada AM. "So there's a disconnect between the number of children waiting and the number of families waiting."
Last year, the number of child adoptions from China fell by 37.5 per cent, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada figures.
China also tightened its adoption laws late last year, restricting the ability of those who are unmarried, obese or over the age of 50 to adopt.
Despite the fact that it was not as easy to adopt in China as it had been in the past, CTV's Rosemary Thompson decided to travel to the country to adopt a child.
Thompson and her husband Pierre Boulet decided to adopt a child after their youngest son Max was killed in an accident.
"We tried the old-fashioned way and it just didn't work," Thompson said. "I was at an age where it was getting more and more difficult. And then I did look at domestic and international (adoption) and finally I concluded two-and-a-half years ago that international still has the best prospects of success."
The family was matched with an 8-month-old girl after about two years of trying.
Thompson and Boulet travelled to China along with their son Louis and returned to Canada with a daughter they named Jasmine.
"We've been waiting for something very, very, happy to happen and we've tried little sparks of everything," said Louis Boulet. "And we found a spark that makes a fire and this is the one."
According to Maslen, countries in Africa such as Ethiopia and South Africa are increasingly becoming good options for international adoption as well as Vietnam, Russia and Kazakhstan.
"But nothing, I think, will ever replace the efficiency of China," said Maslen.
With files from The Associated Press
