Statistics Canada data reveals strong growth of the racialized population, but many are living in poverty
Canada has a long history of welcoming immigrants and their contribution to the economy is frequently noted. But why are so many racialized groups not achieving the Canadian Dream?
Two new articles from Statistics Canada released this week show that the arrival of immigrants accounted for about two-thirds of the total increase in the size of the racialized population since 2001, with the other third coming from Canadian-born children of immigrants. Overall, this sector of the Canadian population grew from 3.85 million in 2001 to 8.87 million in 2021.
But based on a modest, basic standard of living, most racialized groups had a higher rate of poverty in 2020 than White people. While this was greatest in first generation immigrants, it was still evident in second and third generations.
The article ‘Poverty among racialized groups across generations’ noted that part of the story is that “some racialized groups had a high percentage of children and youth and lone-parent households, which are factors that increase the risk of poverty.”
Multi-generational living
One of the factors that the article ‘Changing demographics of racialized people in Canada’ highlights is the greater prevalence of multi-generational living in racialized families.
“In 2021, many second-generation Canadians from racialized groups were children or adolescents and lived with their immigrant parents and often with their grandparents as well,” the article states.
The conclusion was that poverty for many second-generation Canadians from racialized groups is linked to the economic outcomes of their immigrant parents.
Some of the gaps in the poverty rate between racialized and White groups was due to “differences in sociodemographic characteristics, such as their age distribution, highest level of education in the household, number of family members with employment income, family size, household type, proficiency in English or French, and region of residence,” the article acknowledged.
