Newcomers to Canada are becoming homeowners at an increasing rate, while homeownership among Canadian-born individuals is declining, according to a new report from Statistics Canada .
The findings examined figures from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) combined with immigration data for individuals aged 25 to 54 who were admitted as permanent residents from 2017 to 2021 across seven provinces: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
It revealed that recent immigrants are entering the housing market faster than previous cohorts . In Ontario, for example, the homeownership rate for recent immigrants in the fifth year after admission rose from 35.7 per cent in 2018 to 40.2 per cent in 2021, while that for Canadian-born individuals fell from 50.7 per cent to 47.8 per cent.
In British Columbia, home ownership rates among fifth-year immigrants rose from 33.4 per cent to 37.5 per cent in the same time period, while that of Canadian-born residents dropped slightly from 44.7 per cent to 43.3 per cent.
And in Nova Scotia, home ownership rates for immigrants in their fifth year rose from 34.8 per cent to 48.1 per cent, while falling from 51.1 per cent to 49.8 per cent among those who were Canadian-born.
The study also found that economic-class immigrants had homeownership rates comparable to those of Canadian-born individuals by their fifth year after admission to Canada.
This was the case for recent immigrants in the Maritime provinces and Manitoba, while the homeownership gap between recent immigrants and Canadian-born individuals was larger in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
Homeownership rates for Canadian-born residents were 52.5 per cent in Prince Edward Island, compared to 49.8 per cent for fifth-year immigrants in the province. In Nova Scotia, residents born in Canada had a homeownership rate of 49.8 per cent, while the rate for fifth-year immigrants was 48.1 per cent.
New Brunswick was the only province where fifth-year immigrants had a higher rate of ownership than Canadian-born residents, at 56.6 per cent compared to 54.8 per cent.
In British Columbia, where the gap was largest, immigrants five years after admission had a homeownership rate of 37.5 per cent, compared with 43.3 per cent for Canadian-born individuals.
Meanwhile, most immigrants who owned a home in their first year had previous Canadian experience, the data showed.
In each province covered, over 85 per cent of those who owned homes in their first year as recent immigrants had already lived in Canada as non-permanent residents on work or study permits or asylum claims before being admitted as permanent residents.
StatCan also notes that recent immigrant homebuyers had lower incomes but purchased more expensive homes than Canadian-born buyers, which the government agency suggests may be associated with higher mortgage debt and lower retirement savings among newcomers who have bought a home.
The data showed that the average monthly mortgage payments for recent immigrants were higher than those of Canadian-born individuals in every year from 2018 to 2021, with newcomers paying $1,920 in 2021, compared to $1,420 in the same year for those born in Canada.
The study concluded that “the recent immigrant path to homeownership is characterized by higher mortgage debt and a greater emphasis on building equity through the purchase of a principal residence rather than through retirement contributions.”
It added that this leaves recent immigrant buyers more exposed to shifts in the housing market than their Canadian-born counterparts.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
