Changing Patterns in Canadian Homeownership and Shelter Costs, 2006 Census: Immigrants

Narrowing homeownership rate gap between immigrants and Canadian-born

The 2006 Census enumerated 6,166,770 immigrants living in private occupied dwellings in Canada. Of these individuals, 71.6%, or roughly 4,418,155, lived in a dwelling owned by a household member. This proportion was up from 68.2% in 2001.

The gap in the homeownership rate between immigrants and the Canadian-born population has narrowed between 2001 and 2006. The percentage of the Canadian-born population living in a dwelling owned by a household member in 2006 was 75.3%, up from 73.1% in 2001.

The homeownership rate increased for all immigrants between 2001 and 2006, no matter how long they had been in Canada. However, this rate was highest among immigrants who had been in Canada the longest.

Less than half (45.7%) of immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006 lived in accommodation owned by a household member. However, among those who had been in Canada for more than 40 years, the proportion was 85.0%, which was higher than the rate for the Canadian-born. Even when this comparison was made for individual age groups, immigrants who had been in Canada for more than 40 years still showed higher ownership rates.

The homeownership rate increased the fastest among immigrants who had been in Canada for six to 10 years. In 2001, 58.9% of this group owned their own home; by 2006, this proportion had jumped to two-thirds (66.7%) for immigrants who had been in Canada for the same length of time. This was an increase of almost 8 percentage points. In comparison, the previous intercensal increase (1996 to 2001) was 4.5 percentage points.

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