Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Regina—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 be living 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 in Regina are slightly more likely than the Canadian-born population to live with relatives. This difference is seen in all age groups. Among Regina’s Canadian-born population 45 to 64 years of age, 15% live alone. In comparison, only 8% of very recent immigrants 45 to 64 years of age live alone.

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. However, recent immigrants are more likely than the Canadian-born to live in extended family situations. Of the Canadian-born population living with one or more relatives, only 5% are part of an extended family compared to 12% of very recent immigrants and 19% of other recent immigrants.

Figure C-1: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—percentage living with relatives in an extended family, Regina 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.

Extended family living arrangements are most common among older recent immigrants. 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. Young very recent immigrants are also more likely than the Canadian-born of the same age to be living in extended families.

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 thirty families is a recent immigrant family

In Regina in 2001, there were 5,000 recent immigrants who landed in Canada between 1986 and 2001. A large majority of these immigrants—4,100 or 84%—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 1,800 recent immigrant families—that is, families in which either or both spouses or the lone parent are recent immigrants. Only 3% of families in Regina are recent immigrant families. In Canada as a whole, one in nine families is a recent immigrant family.

Most of the recent immigrant families consist of married or common-law couples, while only 8% are lone-parent families. Among Canadian-born families, 19% are single-parent families and 81% are married or common-law couples.

When families are grouped by the age of the oldest member, lone-parent families are more common among the Canadian-born for all age groups except seniors 65 years and over. In the 25-44 year age group, almost one-quarter of Canadian-born families is a lone-parent family, compared to only 6% of recent immigrant families.

Note: For definitions of family and related concepts, see the Glossary. Since the 1996 Census there have been changes to the definition of family.

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. Nearly three-quarters of recent immigrant families have at least one child of any age living at home. In comparison, almost two-thirds of Canadian-born families have children at home.

This difference occurs mainly among older families, when age of family is defined as the age of the older spouse or lone parent. In families where the older spouse or lone parent is 25 to 44 years of age, recent immigrant families in Regina are slightly less likely than Canadian-born families to have children at home—75% compared to 81%, respectively. However, in families where the older spouse or lone parent is 45 to 64 years of age, 73% of recent immigrant families and 62% of Canadian-born families have children in the home. In families where the older spouse or lone parent is 65 years of age or over, 53% of recent immigrant families have children in the home, compared to just 18% of Canadian-born families.

Figure C-2: Recent immigrant and Canadian-born families—never-married children living at home, by age of older spouse or lone parent, Regina 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 more likely to have two or more children in the home than Canadian-born families with children. Seventy-one percent of recent immigrant families with children have two or more children, compared to 60% of Canadian-born families. The incidence of three or more children is also higher among recent immigrant families.

In families where the older spouse or lone parent is 25 to 44 years of age, there is little difference in the shares of Canadian-born and recent immigrant families with one, two, or three or more children. However, among families where the older spouse or lone parent is 45 years of age and over, recent immigrant families tend to have a larger number of children.

In one-third of recent immigrant families, one spouse was born in Canada

The majority of the 1,800 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 11% of families have a recent immigrant spouse and a spouse who immigrated earlier, before 1986. One-third of recent immigrant families in Regina consist of a recent immigrant paired with a Canadian-born spouse. In Canada as a whole, 15% of recent immigrant families consist of a recent immigrant with a Canadian-born spouse.

Figure C-3: Recent immigrant families—family structure showing immigrant status of spouses, Regina Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage distribution)

Of the families of immigrants who landed before 1986, 53% consist of an immigrant paired with a Canadian-born spouse (not shown in Figure C-3). This proportion is significantly higher than for recent immigrant families and well above the Canadian average.

When recent immigrants enter into conjugal unions, they are very likely to do so as a legally married couple. In Regina, just 1% of recent immigrant couples live common-law, compared to 13% of Canadian-born couples.

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 thirty households is a recent immigrant household

In 2001, there were 2,420 recent immigrant households—households in which at least one member 15 years of age or older was a recent immigrant. These made up 3% of the total number of households in Regina.

Almost 40% of recent immigrant households (920 households) have at least one member who immigrated after 1995. For one-half of these households, all members are very recent immigrants. The remaining 460 households are comprised of very recent immigrants living together with other persons. In 47% of these households, the other persons are immigrants who landed before 1996, in 43% they are persons born in Canada, and in 10% they are both immigrants who landed before 1996 and persons born in Canada. In Canada as a whole, very recent immigrants tend to live more with other immigrants and less with persons born in Canada.

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.

Nearly 90% of households in Regina are comprised of only Canadian-born persons. Households that include one or more earlier immigrants but no recent immigrants account for 8% of households.

Recent immigrant households more likely to be larger than a nuclear family

A recent immigrant household is much more likely than a Canadian-born household to consist of one or more families. Four out of five recent immigrant households are family households, compared to just two out of three Canadian-born households.

One in three Canadian-born households is a non-family household, and most of these consist of a person living alone. Among more recent immigrant households, 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 of only very recent immigrants, are somewhat 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 occur much less frequently among the Canadian-born.

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 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 larger in size than Canadian-born and earlier immigrant households. Six out of ten recent immigrant households have one to three persons in the household compared to almost 80% of Canadian-born households. The proportion of households with four or more members is much larger among recent immigrant households than among Canadian-born households.

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 Canadian-born are the most likely of all households to be quite large, with 8% having six or more members. The share of equally large households among Canadian-born households is only 2%.

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 in the same category. On the other hand, a smaller share of recent immigrants report spending time on a regular basis looking after elderly persons in comparison to the Canadian-born. Very recent immigrants are less likely to spend time on care of children or care of elders than immigrants who landed during the 1986 to 1995 period.

These numbers reflect differences in family and household structure. Families with children are more numerous among recent immigrants.

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