Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Montreal—A Comparative Profile Based on the 2001 Census
Part C: Families and Households
Family and household affiliation of individuals
Older recent immigrants more likely to live with relatives
Very few recent immigrants live alone. Like the Canadian-born population, a large majority of recent immigrants live in households with at least two people, and in most cases, these are people with whom they are related by blood, marriage, or adoption. In fact, recent immigrants are more likely than the Canadian-born population to live with relatives. This difference is seen among people 45 years of age and over, and it is most notable among people aged 65 and over. Among Canadian-born seniors in Montreal, six in ten live with relatives, while over one-third live alone. By comparison, eight out of ten very recent immigrants aged 65 years and over live with relatives, while only one in seven lives alone. In part, these figures probably reflect a difference in the average age of recent immigrant seniors and Canadian-born seniors.
| Canadian-born | Immi- grants |
Immigrated before 1986 | Immigrated 1986-1995 | Immigrated 1996-2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages (including 0-14 years) | |||||
| Living alone | 359,320 | 71,760 | 47,970 | 13,460 | 10,340 |
| Living with non-relatives only | 107,820 | 16,010 | 5,660 | 4,860 | 5,490 |
| Living with relatives | 2,248,750 | 532,960 | 273,850 | 161,130 | 97,980 |
| 15-24 years | |||||
| Living alone | 19,620 | 2,630 | 460 | 1,130 | 1,040 |
| Living with non-relatives only | 27,490 | 2,390 | 440 | 940 | 1,020 |
| Living with relatives | 330,880 | 50,840 | 6,990 | 29,560 | 14,300 |
| 25-44 years | |||||
| Living alone | 116,460 | 21,950 | 6,640 | 7,320 | 7,990 |
| Living with non-relatives only | 48,650 | 9,010 | 1,910 | 3,050 | 4,060 |
| Living with relatives | 670,350 | 185,780 | 61,950 | 76,230 | 47,620 |
| 45-64 years | |||||
| Living alone | 118,240 | 21,890 | 17,480 | 3,480 | 930 |
| Living with non-relatives only | 22,190 | 3,180 | 2,240 | 670 | 290 |
| Living with relatives | 488,780 | 176,240 | 132,760 | 32,900 | 10,590 |
| 65 years and over | |||||
| Living alone | 105,000 | 25,290 | 23,390 | 1,530 | 370 |
| Living with non-relatives only | 7,620 | 1,300 | 1,090 | 150 | 70 |
| Living with relatives | 183,020 | 82,880 | 72,200 | 8,660 | 2,030 |
| All ages (including 0-14 years) | |||||
| Living alone | 13% | 12% | 15% | 7% | 9% |
| Living with non-relatives only | 4% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 5% |
| Living with relatives | 83% | 86% | 84% | 90% | 86% |
| 15-24 years | |||||
| Living alone | 5% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 6% |
| Living with non-relatives only | 7% | 4% | 6% | 3% | 6% |
| Living with relatives | 88% | 91% | 89% | 93% | 87% |
| 25-44 years | |||||
| Living alone | 14% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 13% |
| Living with non-relatives only | 6% | 4% | 3% | 4% | 7% |
| Living with relatives | 80% | 86% | 88% | 88% | 80% |
| 45-64 years | |||||
| Living alone | 19% | 11% | 11% | 9% | 8% |
| Living with non-relatives only | 4% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Living with relatives | 78% | 88% | 87% | 89% | 90% |
| 65 years and over | |||||
| Living alone | 36% | 23% | 24% | 15% | 15% |
| Living with non-relatives only | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Living with relatives | 62% | 76% | 75% | 84% | 82% |
Note: For definitions of living arrangements and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Recent immigrants more likely to live in extended families
Recent immigrants are similar to Canadian-born individuals in that most live in nuclear families, with no relatives other than the immediate members of the nuclear family. But unlike the Canadian-born population, recent immigrants are more likely to live in extended family situations. Of the Canadian-born population living with one or more relatives, only one in twenty is part of an extended-family. The proportion of very recent immigrants in that kind of arrangement is twice as large.
Figure C-1: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—percentage living with relatives in an extended family, Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 2001
Note: For definitions of extended and nuclear families, see the Glossary. Whereas Table C-1 includes all persons, Figure C-1 and Table C-2 include only persons who are living with relatives. A small percentage of individuals living with relatives are in “non-family” households. An example might be two adult brothers living together. The percentage of individuals in these situations is not shown in the table and figure in this section.
Older recent immigrants are most likely to live in an extended family. Four in ten of very recent immigrants 65 years of age and over live in extended families, compared to less than one in ten Canadian-born seniors. Older recent immigrants living in extended families are most often related to someone within a nuclear family, and are not members of the nuclear family itself. This suggests that many of these seniors are recent immigrant parents who live with the family of their child who had come to Canada previously.
| Canadian-born | Immigrants | Immigrated before 1986 | Immigrated 1986-1995 | Immigrated 1996-2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | |||||
| Nuclear family | 2,100,710 | 456,630 | 236,020 | 134,940 | 85,680 |
| Extended family | 113,740 | 65,160 | 32,000 | 23,090 | 10,070 |
| Under 15 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 546,730 | 34,300 | – | 12,550 | 21,740 |
| Extended family | 28,330 | 2,830 | – | 1,205 | 1,635 |
| 15-24 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 306,070 | 42,370 | 5,810 | 24,940 | 11,630 |
| Extended family | 18,970 | 6,770 | 990 | 3,830 | 1,970 |
| 25-44 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 632,060 | 160,140 | 53,230 | 64,490 | 42,420 |
| Extended family | 28,780 | 21,670 | 7,530 | 10,140 | 4,010 |
| 45-64 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 456,340 | 153,520 | 116,820 | 27,930 | 8,780 |
| Extended family | 23,890 | 20,170 | 13,930 | 4,600 | 1,650 |
| 65 years and over | |||||
| Nuclear family | 159,520 | 66,320 | 60,170 | 5,030 | 1,120 |
| Extended family | 13,790 | 13,730 | 9,580 | 3,340 | 820 |
| All ages | |||||
| Nuclear family | 93% | 86% | 86% | 84% | 87% |
| Extended family | 5% | 12% | 12% | 14% | 10% |
| Under 15 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 95% | 92% | – | 91% | 93% |
| Extended family | 5% | 8% | – | 9% | 7% |
| 15-24 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 93% | 83% | 83% | 84% | 81% |
| Extended family | 6% | 13% | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| 25-44 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 94% | 86% | 86% | 85% | 89% |
| Extended family | 4% | 12% | 12% | 13% | 8% |
| 45-64 years | |||||
| Nuclear family | 93% | 87% | 88% | 85% | 83% |
| Extended family | 5% | 11% | 10% | 14% | 16% |
| 65 years and over | |||||
| Nuclear family | 87% | 80% | 83% | 58% | 55% |
| Extended family | 8% | 17% | 13% | 39% | 40% |
Note: For definitions of extended and nuclear families, see the Glossary. Whereas Table C-1 includes all persons, Figure C-1 and Table C-2 include only persons who are living with relatives. A small percentage of individuals living with relatives are in “non-family” households. An example might be two adult brothers living together. The percentage of individuals in these situations is not shown in the table and figure in this section. Consequently, the percentages in Table C-2 do not add to 100%.
Families
One in ten families in Montreal is a recent immigrant family
In 2001, 293,800 recent immigrants who landed in Canada between 1986 and 2001 were living in Montreal. A large majority of these immigrants—243,900 or 83%—were members of a nuclear family. In other words, they were husbands, wives, common-law partners, lone parents, or children. Almost all these recent immigrants lived in 103,600 recent immigrant families, that is, families in which either or both spouses or the lone parent are recent immigrants. More than one in ten families in Montreal are recent immigrant families.
Most of the recent immigrant families consist of married or common-law couples, while 16% are lone-parent families. Among Canadian-born families, 18% are lone-parent families, and 82% are married or common-law couples.
| Canadian-born families | Recent immigrant families | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All families (including 15-24 years) | ||||
| Couples with or without children | 536,240 | 82% | 87,170 | 84% |
| Lone-parent families | 118,000 | 18% | 16,420 | 16% |
| Total number of families | 654,240 | 100% | 103,580 | 100% |
| 25-44 years | ||||
| Couples with or without children | 225,950 | 79% | 54,580 | 85% |
| Lone-parent families | 59,430 | 21% | 9,680 | 15% |
| Total number of families | 285,370 | 100% | 64,260 | 100% |
| 45-64 years | ||||
| Couples with or without children | 213,700 | 84% | 26,570 | 84% |
| Lone-parent families | 42,100 | 16% | 5,230 | 16% |
| Total number of families | 255,800 | 100% | 31,800 | 100% |
| 65 years and over | ||||
| Couples with or without children | 85,300 | 87% | 4,900 | 84% |
| Lone-parent families | 12,740 | 13% | 950 | 16% |
| Total number of families | 98,030 | 100% | 5,850 | 100% |
Note: For definitions of family and related concepts, see the Glossary. Since the 1996 Census there have been changes to the definition of family.
When families are grouped by the age of the oldest member, families of seniors are seen to have a composition different from the general pattern. Lone-parent families are more common among recent immigrant families of seniors than among the families of Canadian-born seniors.
Recent immigrant families more likely to have children in the home
Recent immigrant and Canadian-born families differ in the proportion of families with children at home. More than three in four recent immigrant families have at least one child of any age living at home. By comparison, only six in ten Canadian-born families have children at home.
The difference varies by age of the oldest member of the family. Almost four in five families of persons aged 25 to 44 have one or more children in the home. The same share is found among families of recent immigrants in the 45-64 year age group, but among their Canadian-born counterparts the share is only six in ten. Among families of recent immigrant seniors, nearly one-half have children in the home, twice as large a share as for the Canadian-born.
Figure C-2: Recent immigrant and Canadian-born families—never-married children living at home, by age of older spouse or lone parent, Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage)
The higher proportion of older recent immigrant families with children living at home could be due to a greater likelihood that older children stay longer in the parental home, as well as possible differences in the timing of childbirth and level of fertility. Some of the children in older immigrant families may be adults living with and possibly supporting one or two aging parents.
Older recent immigrant families have more children living at home
Recent immigrant families with children are somewhat more likely to have more than two children in the home than Canadian-born families with children. As many as 25% of recent immigrant families with children have three or more children, twice as large a share as for Canadian-born families. In Canada as a whole, the difference between immigrants and the Canadian-born in this regard is not as large.
The number of children varies by age of parent, with older families generally having fewer children. There is a large contrast among families of seniors. Among families of recent immigrant seniors with children in the home, three in ten have two children, and somewhat more than one in ten have three children. Among their Canadian-born counterparts, two children occur in just over one in ten cases, and only a very small proportion has three or more children living at home.
| Canadian-born families | Recent immigrant families | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages (including 15-24 years) | ||||
| One child | 194,080 | 48% | 30,930 | 38% |
| Two children | 160,310 | 39% | 30,050 | 37% |
| Three or more children | 51,820 | 13% | 19,960 | 25% |
| 25-44 years | ||||
| One child | 85,410 | 39% | 19,770 | 39% |
| Two children | 100,500 | 45% | 19,240 | 38% |
| Three or more children | 35,770 | 16% | 12,050 | 24% |
| 45-64 years | ||||
| One child | 84,490 | 54% | 8,890 | 34% |
| Two children | 56,120 | 36% | 9,810 | 37% |
| Three or more children | 15,500 | 10% | 7,540 | 29% |
| 65 years and over | ||||
| One child | 19,410 | 87% | 1,580 | 58% |
| Two children | 2,650 | 12% | 810 | 30% |
| Three or more children | 350 | 2% | 320 | 12% |
Majority of recent immigrants married to other recent immigrants
The majority of Montreal’s 103,600 recent immigrant families consist of a recent immigrant husband married to or living common-law with a recent immigrant wife, with or without children. An additional 12% of these families have a recent immigrant spouse and a spouse who immigrated earlier, before 1986. A total of 16% of recent immigrant families in Montreal have a recent immigrant paired with a Canadian-born spouse.
Figure C-3: Recent immigrant families—family structure showing immigrant status of spouses, Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage distribution)
Of the families of immigrants who landed before 1986, 31% consist of an immigrant paired with a Canadian-born spouse (not shown in Figure C-3). This proportion is roughly twice that of recent immigrant families.
When recent immigrants enter into conjugal unions, they are very likely to do so as a legally married couple. Just 5% of recent immigrant couples live common-law, compared to 35% of Canadian-born couples. Even among younger couples, where common-law is the clear preference of the Canadian-born, relatively few recent immigrant couples have chosen this option. Common-law relations are found more frequently in Montreal than in Canada as a whole.
| Canadian-born families | Recent immigrant families | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | 185,150 | 35% | 2,940 | 5% |
| 15-24 years | 10,490 | 93% | 130 | 33% |
| 25-44 years | 115,240 | 51% | 2,320 | 7% |
| 45-64 years | 52,520 | 25% | 440 | 2% |
| 65 years and over | 6,910 | 8% | 50 | 1% |
The low incidence of common-law relationships is in part a result of immigration law which, prior to the introduction of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in June 2002, did not recognize common-law relationships.
Households
One in nine households is a recent immigrant household
In 2001, there were 139,200 recent immigrant households in Montreal—households in which at least one member 15 years of age or older was a recent immigrant. These made up 11% of all households in Montreal.
Two out of five recent immigrant households have at least one member who immigrated after 1995. For more than half of these households, all members are very recent immigrants. In the remaining 24,000 households, very recent immigrants live together with other persons. In 64% of these households, the other persons are immigrants who landed before 1996, in 31% they are Canadian-born, and in 5% of the households they are both Canadian-born and other immigrants.
| Number of households |
Share of all households |
|
|---|---|---|
| Canadian-born | 1,063,240 | 75% |
| Earlier immigrants | 202,870 | 14% |
| Recent immigrants | 139,180 | 10% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 82,770 | 5.8% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 23,970 | 1.7% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 32,460 | 2.3% |
| All households | 1,417,370 | 100% |
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.
Three out of four households in Montreal are comprised only of Canadian-born persons. Households that include one or more earlier immigrants but no recent immigrants account for 14% of households.
Recent immigrant households more likely to be family households
A recent immigrant household is more likely than a Canadian-born household to consist of one or more families. Close to 80% of recent immigrant households are family households, compared to just 61% of Canadian-born households.
Almost 40% of Canadian-born households are a non-family households and most of these consist of a person living alone. Among recent immigrant households, with the exception of households with only very recent immigrants, persons living alone are much rarer.
Most households consist of a nuclear family, that is, a couple with or without children, or a lone parent with one or more children. Immigrant households, except for households consisting exclusively of very recent immigrants, are much more likely to consist of just a nuclear family than Canadian-born households.
A significant proportion of recent immigrant households consist of a nuclear family living with other persons. In most of these “expanded-family” households, the non-family person or persons are related to the family. Expanded-family households are not unknown among the Canadian-born, but they occur much less frequently.
| Family households | Non-family households | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | All family house- holds |
Nuclear families | Expanded families | Multiple families | Single person | Multiple persons |
| Canadian-born | 648,470 | 610,640 | 33,630 | 4,210 | 359,230 | 55,540 |
| Earlier immigrants | 148,600 | 134,310 | 12,050 | 2,240 | 47,960 | 6,310 |
| Recent immigrants | 106,970 | 89,880 | 13,070 | 4,020 | 23,800 | 8,410 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 65,280 | 55,600 | 7,830 | 1,860 | 13,450 | 4,030 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 21,510 | 15,520 | 4,050 | 1,950 | 0 | 2,470 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 20,200 | 18,780 | 1,210 | 220 | 10,340 | 1,920 |
| All households | 908,080 | 838,660 | 58,940 | 10,480 | 437,500 | 71,780 |
| Canadian-born | 61% | 57% | 3% | 0% | 34% | 5% |
| Earlier immigrants | 73% | 66% | 6% | 1% | 24% | 3% |
| Recent immigrants | 77% | 65% | 9% | 3% | 17% | 6% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 79% | 67% | 9% | 2% | 16% | 5% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 90% | 65% | 17% | 8% | 0% | 10% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 62% | 58% | 4% | 1% | 32% | 6% |
| All households | 64% | 59% | 4% | 1% | 31% | 5% |
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.
Households of recent immigrants are also much more likely than Canadian-born households to consist of two or more families. These families may be related to each other, as for example a married couple living with the family of one of their children. Multiple family households are most common among households combining very recent immigrants with other Canadians. Many recent immigrants clearly live in households that are different from the standard nuclear family.
Recent immigrant households tend to be large
Recent immigrant households are more likely to be large in size than Canadian-born and earlier immigrant households. Six of every ten recent immigrant households have one to three members, compared to eight out of ten Canadian-born households. The proportion of households with four or more members is twice as large among recent immigrant households as among Canadian-born households.
| Number of persons in household | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 1 to 3 | 4 or 5 | 6 or more | |
| Canadian-born | 870,560 | 180,970 | 11,720 | 1,063,240 |
| Earlier immigrants | 150,010 | 46,920 | 5,940 | 202,870 |
| Recent immigrants | 84,490 | 44,460 | 10,230 | 139,170 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 46,650 | 29,710 | 6,420 | 82,780 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 14,180 | 7,230 | 2,560 | 23,970 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 23,680 | 7,520 | 1,260 | 32,460 |
| All households | 1,115,470 | 273,830 | 28,070 | 1,417,360 |
| Number of persons in household | Estimated average size |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 1 to 3 | 4 or 5 | 6 or more | |
| Canadian-born | 82% | 17% | 1% | 2.3 |
| Earlier immigrants | 74% | 23% | 3% | 2.7 |
| Recent immigrants | 61% | 32% | 7% | 3.2 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 56% | 36% | 8% | 3.3 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 59% | 30% | 11% | 3.5 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 73% | 23% | 4% | 2.7 |
| All households | 79% | 19% | 2% | 2.4 |
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. Average size of household is estimated assuming an average of 4.5 for households with four or five members and an average of 7 for households with six or more members. For households with one, two or three members, the actual size of household was used in the calculation.
Most of the larger recent immigrant households have four or five members. Households where very recent immigrants live together with other Canadians are most likely of all households to be very large, with 11% of such households having six or more members. The share of equally large households among Canadian-born households is only 1%.
More care of children
The proportion of recent immigrants 15 years of age or over reporting time spent on unpaid care of children is higher than the proportion of Canadian-born persons. On the other hand, the share of very recent immigrants spending time on a regular basis to look after elder persons is relatively low.
| Care of | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children | Elders | |||
| Women | ||||
| Canadian-born | 438,330 | 31% | 222,510 | 16% |
| Immigrants | 131,820 | 42% | 50,880 | 16% |
| Immigrated before 1986 | 62,660 | 37% | 32,860 | 20% |
| Immigrated 1986-1995 | 45,400 | 49% | 12,660 | 14% |
| Immigrated 1996-2001 | 23,760 | 41% | 5,370 | 9% |
| Men | ||||
| Canadian-born | 338,930 | 26% | 144,270 | 11% |
| Immigrants | 104,710 | 34% | 38,730 | 13% |
| Immigrated before 1986 | 52,380 | 33% | 24,780 | 15% |
| Immigrated 1986-1995 | 34,660 | 39% | 9,760 | 11% |
| Immigrated 1996-2001 | 17,680 | 31% | 4,200 | 7% |
| Total | ||||
| Canadian-born | 777,260 | 29% | 366,780 | 13% |
| Immigrants | 236,530 | 38% | 89,610 | 14% |
| Immigrated before 1986 | 115,040 | 35% | 57,630 | 18% |
| Immigrated 1986-1995 | 80,060 | 45% | 22,420 | 12% |
| Immigrated 1996-2001 | 41,440 | 36% | 9,560 | 8% |
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