1. Immigrants and Housing: Recurrent Themes from the Canadian Literature,1990-2005 Robert Murdie Valerie Preston Magali Chevalier Sutama Ghosh Geography Department, York University

2. With Financial Support From Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) National Secretariat on Homelessness York University

3. 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)

4. 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)www.hnc.utoronto.ca

5. 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

6. Outcome Time PeriodNo. of Relevant References Detailed Summary 1990-94206 1995-993410 2000-054927 No Date20 Total10543

7. 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

8. 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

9. Recurrent Themes Substantive Findings Access to adequate, suitable and affordable housing Housing trajectories Homeownership Issues and Gaps Policy Recommendations

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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