Statistics Canada today releases data from the 1996 Census on occupied private dwellings and housing costs, and the social and economic characteristics of families. This is the last of 11 reports that have painted a new statistical portrait of the nation.

The first section of this report provides information about housing in Canada. It analyses the growth in private households, including those in which people live alone.

In addition, it provides data on individuals who own their own home, or rent their shelter. This is followed by an assessment of monthly shelter costs, particularly those incurred through mortgage payments or rent. There is also an analysis of households that spend 30% or more of their income on shelter, and are thus considered likely to have affordability problems.

The second section provides information on selected characteristics of parents and children. It analyses the labour force activity of parents with children under the age of 15, and the educational attainment of women with pre-schoolers.

The number of private households in Canada increased 8.0% between 1991 and 1996 to 10,820,050. This rate of growth surpassed the 6.2% growth in the population that lived in private households during the same period.

The faster growth rate in private households relative to the population continued a long-term trend. Between 1981 and 1986, private households increased 8.6%, double the 4.1% growth rate in the population in those households. Similarly, between 1986 and 1991, private households increased 11.4%, while the population in private households went up 7.9%.

In 1996, 28.4 million individuals lived in these private households in Canada. In addition to households, the census also counted the number of people who lived in "collective dwellings", which refer to commercial, institutional or communal dwellings such as rooming houses, hotels, hospitals, jails, missions and so on. About 449,000 people lived in 22,615 collective dwellings in 1996.

In 1996, 256,520 people aged 65 and over lived in institutional collective dwellings, up 3.6% from 1991. While the number of people aged 65 and over in the population increased 11.3% between 1991 and 1996, the number of seniors who lived in this type of dwelling increased only one-third as fast (+3.6%).

The remainder of this report provides information on individuals and families who lived in private households.

In 1996, family households represented 71% of all households, compared with 24% for one-person households. The remaining 5% of households were those consisting of two or more people not necessarily in a family.

More people were living alone in 1996. Between 1991 and 1996, the number of one-person households increased 15% to 2.6 million. The growth in one-person households continued the trend observed in previous censuses. Between 1981 and 1986, the number of one-person households increased 15%, and between 1986 and 1991, it increased 18%. As a result, one-person households accounted for 24% of all households in 1996, up from 20% in 1981. This increase contributed significantly to the faster growth rate in households relative to the growth rate in population.

More than one-third (36%) of persons living alone were aged 65 and over, about the same proportion as in 1986 and 1991. Of these individuals, the majority, about three-quarters or 708,245 people, were women. In fact, of the 1.5 million women who lived alone in 1996, almost half were aged 65 and over.

Only 12% of the people who lived alone in 1996 were under the age of 30, compared with 15% five years earlier and 24% in 1981. This decline reflects both the aging of the baby boomers and an increase in the proportion of young people who stayed in their parental homes.

In 1996, 6.9 million Canadian householders owned their home, a 10% increase from 1991. This growth rate was slightly faster than the 8.0% increase in all private households. Just over six out of every 10 households owned their home in 1996. Renter households numbered 3.9 million, 5.0% more than in 1991.

Condominiums continued to account for the fastest rate of growth by far in owner-occuped households. Owner-occupied condominium units numbered 514,720 in 1996, an increase of 40% from 1991. This follows increases of 57% between 1986 and 1991, and 37% between 1981 and 1986.

Just over 1 million people who lived alone owned their home in 1996, up 26% from 1991. This increase accounted for one-third of the overall rise in the number of homeowners between 1991 and 1996. These individuals accounted for 15% of all owner-occupied households in 1996.

During the past 15 years, there has been a steady decline in the number of households with maintainers under the age of 30, from 1.7 million in 1981 to 1.3 million in 1996.

Household maintainers in this age group comprised 12% of all household maintainers in 1996, compared with 20% in 1981.

The decline in the proportion of households with young maintainers was due to several factors. The population aged 15 to 29 declined to 5.8 million in 1996 from 6.7 million in 1981. These people represented 21% of the total population in 1996, compared with 28% in 1981. In addition, the number of people in this age group who stayed in their parental homes increased to 3.2 million, or 55% of the total for this age group, compared with 47% in 1981. Finally, fewer people in this age group lived as couples and formed their own families.

At the same time, the number of households with a maintainer aged 65 and over continued to increase, from 1.4 million in 1981 to 2.2 million in 1996. These households accounted for 20% of all households in 1996, compared with 17% in 1981.

The proportion of older householders who own their home has been increasing. In 1996, it reached 69% for the group aged 65 and over, while only 28% of all households with a maintainer under the age of 30 owned their home. In 1991, 66% of households with a maintainer over 65 owned their home, up from 63% in 1981.

In 1996, 88% of homeowners under the age of 30 had a mortgage on their dwelling, just slightly higher than the proportion five years earlier.

Not surprisingly, the number and proportion of mortgage-free homeowners increased with the age group of the household maintainer. Among maintainers aged 30 to 49, one-quarter of households were mortgage-free in 1996. For households with maintainers aged 50 to 64, the proportion jumped to 59%.

Almost nine in 10 households (88%) with a maintainer aged 65 and over were mortgage-free in 1996, about the same proportion as in 1991.

In 1996, the average renter household spent slightly more of its income on shelter than it did in 1991, while the average for homeowners remained the same.

The proportion of income a household spends on housing is influenced by such factors as size of income, location, the type and size of dwelling, and whether the dwelling is rented, owned with a mortgage or owned free of a mortgage.

On average, renters paid $595 for shelter costs in 1996, down 2.5% from 1991 after adjusting for inflation. However, between 1991 and 1995, average household income for renters declined 12.4% to $30,635. Again, these relative changes in household income and shelter costs resulted in more renters paying a higher proportion of their income on shelter. The proportion increased from 21% in 1991 to 23% in 1996.

Homeowners on average paid $754 each month in shelter costs, down 1% from 1991, after adjustment for the price of goods and services based on the Consumer Price Index. However, this decline occurred as their average household income fell 5% to $59,285 between 1990 and 1995, again after adjusting for inflation. As a result, this average proportion of income spent on shelter remained the same (15%) in 1991 and in 1996.

A mortgage made a significant difference in the average monthly shelter cost for owners. Mortgage-free households paid $330 a month on average in 1996, compared with an average of $1,128 among households with a mortgage.

Homeowners aged 30 to 49 with a mortgage paid on average $1,151 per month in shelter costs in 1996, the highest level of any age group. This represents a 5.2% decline from 1991, mirroring a 4.6% decline in their average household income, which fell to $65,880.

The allocation of 30% or more of a household’s income to housing expenses is frequently used as a threshold for assessing housing affordability. While households spending 30% or more of income on shelter costs are not necessarily experiencing housing affordability problems, the 30% measure provides a useful benchmark for assessing trends in housing affordability.

In 1996, almost 2.8 million households, or 26% of all households, spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, compared with 23% in 1991. People who rented comprised the majority (60%) of these households, while 33% were households that owned a home with a mortgage, and the remaining 7% were households that owned a home without a mortgage.

In 1996, the average monthly shelter cost for households with potential affordability problems was $1,331 for owners with mortgages on their dwellings, $402 for mortgage-free owners, and $634 for renters.

Housing affordability problems affected renters more than owners. In 1996, 1.7 million renters, or 43% of all renters, spent 30% or more of their household income on shelter. This compares with 1.3 million renters, or 35% of the total, five years earlier. This increase among renters accounted for two-thirds of the increase of 600,000 between 1991 and 1996 in the total number of households that spent 30% or more of their income on housing.

In 1996, 1.1 million homeowners, or 17% of all homeowners, spent 30% or more of their household income on shelter. This was an increase from 930,650 in 1991, which was 15% of the total.

Middle-aged homeowners, those aged 30 to 49, who had a mortgage, were most likely to spend 30% or more of their income on housing. In 1996, they paid an average of $1,372 in shelter costs, a 14.3% decline from 1991. Between 1990 and 1995, their average household income declined almost 16%, resulting on average in a substantially higher proportion of their income being devoted to the cost of shelter.

Certain types of households were more likely to spend 30% or more of their income on housing. In terms of absolute numbers, the most numerous households were people who lived alone, family households consisting of couples with children, and lone-parent family households.

In 1996, 42% of one-person households, or about 1.1 million, spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, up from 37% in 1991. Three-quarters of these households were renters in 1996, the same proportion as in 1991.

About 18% of all family households consisting of couples with children at home spent 30% or more of their income on shelter in 1996. The majority of these 663,445 households were homeowners with a maintainer aged 30 to 49, most of whom carried a mortgage on their dwelling. The 1991 Census found a similar pattern.

In 1996, about 44% of all lone-parent family households, or 472,495, had potential affordability problems, compared with 39% or 348,105, five years earlier. About 72% of these households in 1996 were renters, with a sizeable contingent of household maintainers aged 30 to 49.

About one-third of households in Canada’s three largest census metropolitan areas spent 30% or more of their income on housing in 1996.

In Vancouver, 33% of the 684,690 households spent 30% or more of their income on housing in 1996. Close behind were Toronto and Montreal, at 32%. In Ottawa-Hull, the fourth largest census metropolitan area, the proportion was 26%.

Between 1991 and 1996, the number of households with potential affordability problems increased 37% in Vancouver, compared with 32% in Toronto and Ottawa-Hull, and 25% in Montreal.

Renters were most likely to spend at least 30% of their income on housing in all four census metropolitan areas. Almost half of renters (47%) did so in Vancouver in 1996, as did 44% in Montreal and Toronto, and 42% in Ottawa-Hull.

In Toronto, the average shelter cost in 1996 for households which spent 30% or more of their income on housing was $1,085, down 21% from 1991 after adjusting for inflation. However, average real income declined even more among these households (-23.1%).

In Montreal, the average shelter cost for these households was $728 per month in 1996, a 16% decrease from 1991. At the same time, their real income declined 18%.

In Ottawa-Hull, the average shelter cost for these households declined 12% to $881 between 1991 and 1996, while average household income declined 15%.

And in Vancouver, the average shelter cost for households which spent 30% or more of their income on housing increased 4.2% to $1,070, while average real household income declined 3%.

This section highlights changes in the social and economic characteristics of families in recent years. It provides information on the labour force activity of parents with children under 15, and on the educational attainment of women with pre-school children.

During the past 15 years, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of children under the age of 15 whose parents were both working. In contrast, there was almost no change in the proportion of children in female lone-parent families in which the mother was employed.

In 1996, there were 4.8 million children under the age of 15 living in two-parent families. Both parents were working in the case of about 60% of these children, up from 43% in 1981 and 58% in 1991.

Female lone parents were less likely to be employed than women in two-parent families. In 1996, 826,000 children under the age of 15 were living with female lone parents. The mother was employed in the case of about half of these children, unchanged from 1981. In contrast, the mother was employed in the case of nearly two-thirds of the children in two-parent families.

The census showed that trends for pre-school children under the age of six were similar to those for all children under 15.

The proportion of pre-schoolers whose parents were both working also increased during the past 15 years. In 1996, both parents were working in the case of 56% of these pre-school children, compared with 38% in 1981 and 52% in 1991.

Both parents were working in the case of 57% of pre-school children living in married couple families, as opposed to 46% of pre-school children living in common-law couple families. This could be due in part to the fact that married women with pre-school children had higher levels of education than their counterparts who lived in a common-law union.

In 1996, 56% of married women with pre-schoolers had completed a post-secondary certificate or degree, compared with 40% of women living in a common-law union. This difference was apparent among women in all age groups.

The proportion of pre-school children living in a female lone-parent family in which the mother was working declined slightly during the past 15 years. In 1996, the single mother was working in the case of 38% of these children, compared with 41% in 1981.

Census data also indicated that in general, female lone parents with children under six who had been married at some point in their lives were more likely to be working than female lone parents who had never been married. The data also show that only 35% of female lone parents had completed a post-secondary certificate or degree, compared to about 53% of women with partners.

For further information on this release, contact Statistics Canada Media Relations at (613) 951-4636.

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