Recent immigrants in Canada are becoming homeowners at higher rates within their first five years as permanent residents, while homeownership among Canadian-born individuals has declined, according to a Statistics Canada study released Tuesday.
The study found a clear shift in Ontario, where homeownership among recent immigrants in their fifth year in Canada rose from 35.7 per cent in 2018 to 40.2 per cent in 2021. That marked an increase of more than 12 per cent. During the same period, the rate for Canadian-born individuals dropped from 50.7 per cent to 47.8 per cent, a decline of five per cent.
Recent immigrants recorded the highest homeownership rates in the Maritimes and Manitoba. In those regions, their ownership levels were close to those of Canadian-born individuals.
“As they spend more time in Canada, recent immigrants are more likely to own residential properties in Canada,” Samuel MacIsaac said, a senior research analyst with Statistics Canada, at the Centre for Housing and Income Statistics.
“While immigrants remain less likely to be homeowners than the average Canadian-born person by their fifth year as immigrants, that gap in ownership reduces substantially,” MacIsaac said.
Recent Immigrants Enter Housing Market After Years In Canada
Statistics Canada said more than 85 per cent of recent immigrants who owned a home in their first year as permanent residents had already lived in Canada as non-permanent residents. Many had arrived earlier through work permits, study permits or asylum claims before gaining permanent resident status.
The study also found at least one in 10 refugees became homeowners after five years of settlement in Canada. In Ontario, that figure rose to nearly one in five.
The research used tax filing data from recent immigrants aged 25 to 54 who were in their first five years after admission as permanent residents. It covered Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
Higher Home Prices And Larger Mortgage Debt
The report found recent immigrants who bought homes often purchased more expensive properties despite earning lower incomes than Canadian-born first-time homebuyers.
In 2021, recent immigrant homeowners were less likely than Canadian-born homebuyers to contribute to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan, or RRSP. Statistics Canada said this suggests different financial priorities among new permanent residents.
“One possibility [why] is that immigrants may be more likely to view the primary residence as a form of equity building whereas their Canadian-born counterparts may be more likely to use, say, retirement savings or other tools,” MacIsaac said.
Recent immigrants also carried larger mortgage debt and faced greater exposure to shifts in the housing market. Those who became homeowners before age 35 paid higher monthly mortgages from 2018 to 2021 than Canadian-born households.
Homeownership Trends Vary By Region Of Birth
Statistics Canada found major differences by region of birth. South Asian immigrants in their fifth year in Canada had homeownership rates of 46 per cent in British Columbia and 53.8 per cent in Ontario.
Among Southeast Asian immigrants in their fifth year, ownership ranged from 23.3 per cent in Ontario to 59.9 per cent in New Brunswick.
Permanent residents from East Asia were the most likely to become homeowners in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia in 2021.
“Where recent immigrants were born could definitely be a factor towards their homeownership and their homeownership trajectories,” MacIsaac said.
“Permanent residents born in Europe, the United States, or Oceania, generally had similar homeownership rates as Canadian-born individuals and that was the general trend across most provinces studied.”
The findings point to a changing housing market where immigrant settlement patterns, financial priorities and regional affordability continue to shape who enters homeownership in Canada.
