20% of Visible Minority Households in Core Housing Need

In 2016, visible minority households accounted for 16.6% of all households in Canada. Among these visible minority households, 20.1% were in core housing need. This was well above the 11.2% rate of core housing need among non-visible minority households.

Given the nature of immigration, visible minority households also tend to be immigrant households. In 2011, for example, 83.4% of visible minority households were also immigrant households.

We recently published a report updating earlier research we did on the housing conditions of visible minority households.

Core housing need unchanged for visible minority households from 2011 to 2016

Here’s some of what our latest research revealed:

• Overall, core housing need rose slightly between 2011 and 2016. However, core housing need among visible minority households remained pretty steady, falling 0.1 of a percentage point.
• Visible minority households were concentrated in Canada’s larger urban centres. In 2016, 95.5% of them lived in a census metropolitan area (CMA). In comparison, only 65% of non-visible minority households lived in CMAs.
• Looking more closely at this, we see that most visible minority households lived in Toronto (38.9%), Vancouver (15.5%) and Montréal (13.1%).
• Of the 10 CMAs with the highest rates of core housing need for visible minority households, 7 were in Ontario. All 10 also had large disparities in core housing need between visible minority households and non-visible minority households.
• Ottawa had the largest disparity, followed by Halifax, Saint John and Barrie. Only Brantford, Ontario, had a lower rate of core housing need among visible minority households than among non-visible minority households.
• Overall, the average household income of visible minority households was $4,798 lower than the Canadian average. However, visible minority households not in core housing need tended to earn similar incomes to those of their non-visible minority counterparts.

Housing for everyone in Canada by 2030

By 2030, we want everyone in Canada to have a home that they can afford and that meets their needs. Reaching this ambitious goal means finding out who are the most vulnerable households in Canada. It also means getting to know the needs of these households and developing the right policies to help them.

As Michael Edwards, Senior Specialist, Housing Research, at CMHC, explains:

“Considering the unique circumstances of different communities is an important part of the policy development process. In the case of visible minority-led households, they face higher rates of overcrowding and are more likely to live in one of the larger urban centres.”