Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Canada—A Comparative Profile Based on the 2001 Census
Part F: Housing
Crowded accommodations more common for recent immigrants
The number of persons per room for households of recent immigrants is well above the Canadian average. As many as 22% of recent immigrant households live in crowded conditions (that is, there are more people than rooms in the home). The incidence of crowding is even higher among households consisting only of very recent immigrants. In contrast, crowding is very rare among households of the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants.
| Households | Fewer than 0.5 persons | 0.5 to 0.74 persons | 0.75 to 0.99 persons | 1 or more persons | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian-born | 5,719,700 | 2,253,000 | 383,800 | 221,600 | 8,578,100 |
| Earlier immigrants | 1,232,100 | 494,800 | 85,900 | 63,500 | 1,876,300 |
| Recent immigrants | 300,100 | 368,100 | 152,500 | 235,600 | 1,056,300 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 207,500 | 233,500 | 88,100 | 111,200 | 640,300 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 40,700 | 70,400 | 32,000 | 55,800 | 198,900 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 51,900 | 64,200 | 32,500 | 68,600 | 217,100 |
| All households | 7,273,500 | 3,131,500 | 626,200 | 531,800 | 11,563,000 |
| Canadian-born | 67% | 26% | 4% | 3% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 66% | 26% | 5% | 3% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 28% | 35% | 14% | 22% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 32% | 36% | 14% | 17% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 20% | 35% | 16% | 28% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 24% | 30% | 15% | 32% | 100% |
| All households | 63% | 27% | 5% | 5% | 100% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household, crowding and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Large households likely to have crowded accommodations
Crowding is related to the size of a household. The larger the household, the greater the chance that there are more persons living in the dwelling than there are rooms. This pattern is found among households of the Canadian-born as well as immigrants, despite the fact that there is much less crowding in households of the Canadian-born than in the households of recent immigrants.
| Size of household | Fewer than 0.5 persons | 0.5 to 0.74 persons | 0.75 to 0.99 persons | 1 or more persons | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 5,262,100 | 1,189,700 | 107,600 | 80,700 | 6,640,200 |
| Earlier immigrants | 1,107,600 | 225,800 | 18,900 | 24,100 | 1,376,300 |
| Recent immigrants | 256,600 | 192,600 | 49,800 | 67,000 | 565,900 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 175,600 | 109,300 | 23,500 | 27,600 | 336,100 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 34,200 | 40,400 | 10,600 | 12,400 | 97,600 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 46,800 | 42,800 | 15,700 | 27,000 | 132,300 |
| 4 to 5 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 449,300 | 999,400 | 220,300 | 90,700 | 1,759,700 |
| Earlier immigrants | 121,200 | 245,300 | 45,800 | 24,300 | 436,700 |
| Recent immigrants | 41,800 | 156,000 | 73,000 | 109,200 | 380,100 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 30,800 | 111,600 | 46,000 | 54,600 | 243,000 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 6,000 | 24,200 | 12,400 | 21,300 | 63,900 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 4,900 | 20,200 | 14,700 | 33,400 | 73,200 |
| 6 or more persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 8,300 | 63,900 | 55,900 | 50,200 | 178,200 |
| Earlier immigrants | 3,300 | 23,700 | 21,200 | 15,000 | 63,300 |
| Recent immigrants | 1,700 | 19,500 | 29,700 | 59,300 | 110,300 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 1,100 | 12,500 | 18,600 | 29,000 | 61,200 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 500 | 5,900 | 9,000 | 22,100 | 37,500 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 100 | 1,100 | 2,200 | 8,200 | 11,600 |
| 1 to 3 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 79% | 18% | 2% | 1% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 80% | 16% | 1% | 2% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 45% | 34% | 9% | 12% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 52% | 33% | 7% | 8% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 35% | 41% | 11% | 13% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 35% | 32% | 12% | 20% | 100% |
| 4 to 5 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 26% | 57% | 13% | 5% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 28% | 56% | 10% | 6% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 11% | 41% | 19% | 29% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 13% | 46% | 19% | 22% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 9% | 38% | 19% | 33% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 7% | 28% | 20% | 46% | 100% |
| 6 or more persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 5% | 36% | 31% | 28% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 5% | 37% | 34% | 24% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 2% | 18% | 27% | 54% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 2% | 20% | 30% | 47% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 1% | 16% | 24% | 59% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 1% | 10% | 19% | 71% | 100% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household, crowding and related concepts, see the Glossary.
As shown in Table C-8, households of immigrants who landed before 1986 are, on average, the same size as households of the Canadian-born. Earlier immigrant households also have accommodation that is similar in size to that of Canadian-born households.
One-third of recent immigrant households face high housing costs
One-third of recent immigrant households and nearly one-half of the households made up exclusively of very recent immigrants spend more than 30% of their income on accommodation, and one-quarter of these households have cost in excess of 50% of income. Of Canadian-born households, only one in five have housing costs in excess of 30% of income.
| Cost of accommodation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Less than 30% | 30% to 50% | 50% or more | |||
| Canadian-born | 6,471,900 | 75% | 1,045,700 | 12% | 824,600 | 10% |
| Earlier immigrants | 1,458,500 | 78% | 240,000 | 13% | 154,400 | 8% |
| Recent immigrants | 619,400 | 67% | 161,500 | 17% | 142,300 | 15% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 437,200 | 68% | 108,900 | 17% | 89,800 | 14% |
| 1996-1999 immigrants with others | 96,200 | 73% | 20,200 | 15% | 13,600 | 10% |
| 1996-1999 immigrants only | 86,000 | 54% | 32,400 | 20% | 38,900 | 25% |
| All households | 8,626,600 | 75% | 1,476,900 | 13% | 1,176,400 | 10% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary. Totals do not add to 100% due to some non-reporting households.
Housing costs of more than 30% of income are considered burdensome, and households facing that level of cost generally have low incomes. Many households of recently landed immigrants have low incomes and try to keep the cost of accommodation down by choosing small quarters and making their households large. However, often this is not enough to bring housing costs down to less than 30% of income.
Housing of recent immigrants of same quality
The dwellings of households of immigrants who landed after 1985 tend to have been more recently built than the houses of Canadian-born.
| Period of construction | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Before 1971 | 1971-1990 | 1991-2001 | |||
| Canadian-born | 4,036,900 | 47% | 3,328,200 | 39% | 1,213,000 | 14% |
| Earlier immigrants | 841,300 | 45% | 761,600 | 41% | 273,500 | 15% |
| Recent immigrants | 412,200 | 39% | 431,300 | 41% | 212,800 | 20% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 244,600 | 38% | 260,700 | 41% | 134,900 | 21% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 79,700 | 40% | 80,100 | 40% | 39,100 | 20% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 87,900 | 40% | 90,500 | 42% | 38,700 | 18% |
| All households | 5,314,700 | 46% | 4,541,200 | 39% | 1,707,100 | 15% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.
There is very little difference in the state of repair of the housing stock between recent immigrants, earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born. This suggests that, although crowding and the cost of housing clearly are a challenge for many recent immigrants, they tend not to resort to sub-standard accommodation.
| Quality of housing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Regular maintenance | Minor repairs | Major repairs | |||
| Canadian-born | 5,515,000 | 64% | 2,326,500 | 27% | 736,600 | 9% |
| Earlier immigrants | 1,282,700 | 68% | 465,200 | 25% | 128,400 | 7% |
| Recent immigrants | 718,100 | 68% | 258,100 | 24% | 80,100 | 8% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 428,800 | 67% | 161,000 | 25% | 50,500 | 8% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 134,800 | 68% | 48,900 | 25% | 15,200 | 8% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 154,500 | 71% | 48,200 | 22% | 14,500 | 7% |
| All households | 7,554,100 | 65% | 3,060,600 | 26% | 948,200 | 8% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Home ownership less common among recent immigrants
One-quarter of households consisting exclusively of immigrants who landed during 1996-2001 own their home, compared to over two-thirds of Canadian-born households and four out of five households of earlier immigrants. In general, the rate of home ownership is lower among recent immigrants than among the Canadian-born.
Figure F-1: Immigrant households (by period of immigration) and Canadian-born households—home ownership, by household type, Canada, 2001 (percentage)
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Home-ownership is much higher among earlier immigrants than the Canadian-born. This probably reflects the higher average age of earlier immigrants, but it may also point to different choices.
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