Immigrants and Housing: Recurrent Themes from the Canadian Literature,1990-2005

Robert Murdie

Valerie Preston

Magali Chevalier

Sutama Ghosh

Geography Department, York University

With Financial Support From

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

National Secretariat on Homelessness York University

Part of a Larger Project

Exploring the Housing Situation and Needs of New Immigrants to Canada Literature Review (1990-2005) Statistics Canada Metropolis Core Tables

(2001 Census) The Early Settlement Experiences Seen

Through the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC)

Need for a Literature Review Increased Interest Importance of Housing in the Immigrant

Integration Process Access to adequate, suitable and affordable housing is

an important first step Housing as an indicator of quality of life (health, social

interaction, community participation, general well being) Few Bibliographies of the Canadian Literature in

this Field Beavis (1995, out of print); Housing New Canadians

Research Working Group (www.hnc.utoronto.ca)

Construction of the Bibliography

1990-2005 Canadian literature Housing demand, housing careers, barriers

in the housing market, home ownership Existing bibliographies, theses and

dissertations, tables of contents for relevant journals

Outcome

Time Period No. of Relevant References

Detailed Summary

1990-94 20 6

1995-99 34 10

2000-05 49 27

No Date 2 0

Total 105 43

Why the Increased Research Interest? Development of the Metropolis Project and

network of university based research centres Corresponding interest by federal government

agencies such as CMHC and the Homelessness Secretariat

Increased concern and research capacity of large NGOs

Interest by graduate students and their advisors

Housing Context: Mid 1990s+ Low rental vacancy rates in most large CMAs Little new social housing from the feds; variable

by province Increased rents, especially Toronto; highest rents

in Toronto Increased homeownership costs, especially

Toronto and Montreal; highest ownership costs in Vancouver and Toronto

Finding affordable rental housing is a major challenge for immigrants with limited financial resources

Recurrent Themes

Substantive Findings Access to adequate, suitable and affordable

housing Housing trajectories Homeownership

Issues and Gaps Policy Recommendations

Access to Adequate, Suitable and Affordable Housing Affordability is the major barrier Affordability much more important for renters Physical quality and overcrowding also important Most studies acknowledge the importance of

discrimination Discrimination is multifaceted (level of income,

source of income, family size, immigrant status . .) Refugees (especially claimants) experience much

more difficulty than immigrants

Housing Trajectories

Variability by immigrant group and location In Toronto, groups such as the Poles,

Punjabis and Sinhalese have fairly quickly established a ‘progressive’ housing career; groups such as the Somalis are struggling

Highlights the importance of disaggregating by immigrant group and location

Homeownership Most immigrants aspire to homeownership and a

single detached house in the suburbs Factors include family composition, previous

homeownership, perceived investment value of ownership

There are exceptions (e.g., Ghanaians, Somalis) Substantial variation in the extent to which

immigrants are able to achieve homeownership and the length of time that it takes to do so

Recent decline in immigrant homeownership

Issues and Gaps Most studies are snapshots at one point in time (LSIC is an

exception); Trajectory studies tend to be retrospective Advantages and disadvantages of census-based analyses

versus more local in-depth questionnaire-based studies Few studies effectively capture issues of housing need and

housing satisfaction Considerable debate about the most effective way of measuring

discrimination Homelessness not as serious as in the general population;

definitional and measurement problems; social networks Little analysis of immigrants and refugees in the social housing

sector; contribution to social cohesion and integration

Policy Recommendations A common theme is the need for more

affordable rental housing A number of suggestions relate to

immigrants and refugees with few financial resources Transitional Housing Accompaniment Mobile Housing Clinics

Conclusion Is Canada moving towards a two or three class

immigrant society? Two classes (Owners and Renters) Three classes

The poor who have enormous difficulty accessing good quality affordable housing and little prospect of making a ‘progressive’ housing career

A middle group of ‘battlers’ who struggle but ultimately achieve homeownership, albeit by devoting a large proportion of their resources on housing

A group of well off immigrants who achieve homeownership relatively quickly and with comparatively little financial sacrifice