The housing experiences of new Canadians: Insights from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC)
By Michael Haan, PhD
Canada Research Chair in Population and Social Policy
March 2012
This report outlines several aspects of the residential experiences of recent immigrants to Canada. It uses the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) to document the experiences of newcomers as they learn how to navigate Canada’s housing market. After describing the historical context of immigration in Canada in section one, section two elaborates on housing affordability, and how this varies by census metropolitan area, category of admission, country of origin, and visible minority status. Most analysis in section two is broken down by owners and renters. In section three, multivariate analysis is used to identify the factors that allow those that rented in wave 1 to become owners by wave 3. The report closes by discussing some policy implications and making some suggestions for future research.
Table of contents
- Executive summary
- 1. Introduction: Immigration to Canada, past and present
- 2. How much do immigrants spend on housing?
- 2.1 Introduction
- 2.2 How much do immigrants pay per month in shelter costs?
- 2.3 Comparisons with Canadians overall
- 2.4 Do housing costs vary by location?
- 2.5 Variations across visible minority groups
- 2.6 Variations by source region
- 2.7 Variations by admission category
- 2.8 Education differences in housing experiences
- 2.9 Age differences in housing experiences
- 2.10 Conclusion
- 3. Moving from renter to owner
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 Immigrant homeownership trajectories in the first four years
- 3.3 Explaining differences between visible minority groups
- 3.4 Adjusting homeownership trajectories
- 3.5 Plotting adjusted attainment probabilities
- 3.6 Comparing predicted and actual homeownership rates
- 3.7 Changing characteristics over time
- 3.8 Conclusion
- Appendix A: About the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC)
- Appendix B: LSIC survey design
- Appendix C: Details on variable creation
- Appendix D: References
The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Citizenship and Immigration Canada or the Government of Canada.
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