A Portrait of Seniors in Canada

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Chapter 7. Immigrant seniors

In Canada, immigrants represent a considerably large group among seniors. In 2001, some 29% of individuals aged 65 to 74 and 28% of those aged 75 to 84 were immigrants, that is, they were not born in Canada and/or did not have Canadian citizen at birth. By comparison, immigrants accounted for about 17% of the non-senior population in 2001.

Throughout this report, information about immigrant seniors has been collapsed with that about Canadian-born seniors. However many immigrant seniors, and especially more recent immigrants, have different characteristics and may have had different life experiences than those born in Canada. For example, many immigrants who are now seniors did not have the same type of labour market experiences when they were younger (later entry, dissimilar occupations), needed to learn a new language as adults, tended to live in more urban areas all their lives and so on. Also some immigrant seniors, especially those who landed more recently, have had less time to save for retirement and fewer are likely to be eligible for Canadian public pension plans.

These differences between Canadian-born and immigrant seniors, as well as others, will be explored in this chapter. The chapter presents comparisons of three sub-groups of seniors: Canadian-born seniors, long-term immigrant seniors and more recent immigrant seniors. Unless indicated in the text, recent immigrants or "more recent immigrants" refer to those who came to Canada in 1981 or after. While census data allow a detailed presentation of the information for recent immigrant seniors (e.g. those who came to Canada after 1991), this is not the case for smaller surveys like the General Social Survey or the Canadian Community Health Survey. Another subgroup which will receive some attention in this chapter are recent immigrants approaching retirement, more specifically recent immigrants aged 55 to 64.

A selection of indicators, presented in Chapters 1 to 5 of this report, has been chosen for this chapter. These include health and well-being, victimization, financial security, retirement and social participation.

Part A) Demography

In Chapter One, some information about immigrant seniors was presented. Four important facts were highlighted in that chapter: 1) a relatively large share of seniors are immigrants, but most of them are long-term immigrants (Chart 7.1 and Table 1.11 in Chapter One); 2) on a year-by-year basis, seniors account for a very small share of new immigrants (for example, just 2.3% in 2004); 3) the source countries of immigration are changing, and these changes are just beginning to be reflected in the characteristics of immigrants aged 65 and older (Table 1.12 in Chapter One); and 4) there are considerable variations across the ten provinces in the extent to which immigrants represent a large share of seniors (for example, 41% in Ontario compared to 3% in Newfoundland and Labrador). Like immigrants in general, the vast majority of immigrant seniors live in Ontario, British Columbia and Québec.

The first part of this chapter presents a supplementary set of socio-demographic characteristics of immigrant seniors.

Immigrants by age group

The immigrant population is somewhat older than the non-immigrant population. In 2001, about one million or 19% of all immigrants were aged 65 and over. In contrast, this was the case for only 11% of non-immigrants. Given that most immigrants come to Canada as young adults and that their Canadian-born children are not immigrants, the age structure of the immigrant population is likely to be older than that of the Canadian-born population at any point in time.

The immigrant population is also aging (Chart 7.2), but at a slower pace than the Canadian-born population. The share of the immigrant population composed of seniors increased from 17% in 1981 to 18.9% in 2001 (a 1.9 percentage point increase). By comparison, 10.8% of the Canadian-born population was aged 65 and over in 2001, compared to 7.6% in 1981 (a 3.2 percentage point increase).

Proportion of men and women among immigrant seniors

Among immigrants, as in the total population, women represent a greater proportion of seniors than men (see Chapter 1 for details). However, women are less represented among immigrant than Canadian-born seniors. In 2001, some 51% of immigrant seniors aged 65 to 74 were women, compared to 53.7% of non-immigrant seniors. There was also a slight difference among those in the oldest age groups: 58.5% of immigrant seniors aged 75 and over were females, compared to 61.3% of non-immigrants.

Immigrant seniors in Census Metropolitan Areas¹

Immigrants are much more likely to reside in large urban areas than non-immigrants (Schellenberg, 2004a). The same is true for immigrant seniors, who are more likely to live in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) than non-immigrants; moreover, they are more likely to reside in these large urban areas now than they were 20 years ago. Specifically in 2001, 80% of immigrant seniors were living in one of Canada 's 27 CMAs, compared to 69% in 1981. In contrast, only 53% of Canadian-born seniors lived in a CMA in 2001, an increase from 48% in 1981.²

The chances of more recent immigrants living in a large urban area are, relatively speaking, even greater. In 2001, 19 out of 20 immigrant seniors who had been in Canada for 10 years or less were living in a CMA (94%). In contrast, this was the case for only 74% of those who had arrived in Canada before 1961.

More than two-thirds of immigrant seniors live in Toronto or Vancouver

Immigrant seniors are much more likely to reside in Toronto and Vancouver than non-immigrants. In 2001, 30.4% of them were living in Toronto, compared to only 7.3% of Canadian-born seniors (Table 7.1). More recent immigrants were even more likely to live in these two metropolitan areas: among immigrant seniors who came to Canada between 1991 and 2001, 46% lived in Toronto and 22% in Vancouver.

Almost two-third of seniors in Toronto are immigrants

Not surprisingly, the proportion of seniors who are immigrants is much higher in some CMAs than in others (Chart 7.3). In Québec's CMAs (other than Montréal), immigrant seniors represented a very small minority of seniors, ranging from less than 1% in Chicoutimi-Jonquière to 4.5% in Sherbrooke.

In contrast, the proportions of immigrants among seniors in British Columbia 's three CMAs were substantial in 2001: 36% in Victoria, 41.5% in Abbotsford and 51% in Vancouver. Toronto is different from all others CMAs; in 2001, 62.3% of all seniors residing in Toronto were immigrants.

Residential mobility of immigrant seniors

Between 1996 and 2001, long-term immigrant seniors and Canadian-born seniors were similarly likely to have changed residence. Specifically, 17.3% of immigrant seniors who arrived in Canada before 1961 and 18.1% of Canadian-born seniors move from one private residence to another between 1996 and 2001 (Chart 7.4). It should be noted that these numbers do not include seniors entering long-term care facilities. Consequently, the proportion of seniors who had changed in that period is underestimated.

More recent immigrant seniors were, however, significantly more likely to have moved during that period. Of immigrant seniors who landed in Canada between 1991 and 1995, 40.7% changed residences between 1996 and 2001, almost twice the proportion of immigrant seniors who had landed between 1971 and 1980 (22.4%). That said, most recent immigrant seniors who changed residence did so within the same municipality or city and (like seniors in general) very few moved to another province.

Immigrant seniors and language

The vast majority of immigrant seniors have spent most of their lives in Canada and hence are able to speak English, French or both official languages. In the 2001 Census, only 4% of immigrant seniors who arrived in Canada before 1961 reported that they could not speak either English or French (Table 7.2).

However, being able to speak one of the official languages is significantly less common among those who have arrived in Canada more recently. For example, 50.2% of immigrant seniors who arrived in Canada between 1991 and 2001 were unable to speak either English or French.

In Toronto and Vancouver, the two cities in which recent immigrant seniors are more likely to reside, the proportions of immigrant seniors who could not speak English or French were, respectively, 22% and 26%. However, among recent immigrant seniors who arrived between 1991 and 2001 and lived in Vancouver, some 60% could speak neither English nor French.

Three quarters of recent immigrant seniors belong to a visible minority group

In 2001, almost one-quarter of immigrant seniors (23%) belonged to a visible minority group, compared to only 0.8% of Canadian-born seniors (Table 7.3). These proportions represent, for both immigrant and non-immigrant seniors, a significant increase from 1981. In that year, only 6.8% of immigrant and 0.4% of Canadian-born seniors were visible minorities.

A relatively large share of immigrant seniors from Alberta and British Columbia belong to a visible minority group (respectively, 25.5 and 30.7%). In Alberta, this proportion was five times greater in 2001 than in 1981.

More recent immigrants are much more likely to be visible minorities. Among immigrant seniors who landed in Canada in 1991 or after, 75.6% belonged to a visible minority group. This was the case for only 3% of immigrant seniors who came to Canada before 1961.

Part B) Health, wellness and security

Physical and mental health

Most immigrant seniors, especially more recent immigrants, are likely to have experienced somewhat different life courses than Canadian-born seniors. It is not possible to assess in this chapter the extent to which these differences between life courses are (or are not) associated with their current health and well-being. However, it is possible to make comparisons between the three groups with respect to physical and mental health, access to services and care, health-related behaviours and so on. The goal of these comparisons is to assess whether immigrant seniors, and particularly more recent immigrants, are at greater risk of suffering poorer health.

Self-rated health

Non-senior recent immigrants are generally in better health than the Canadian-born population in the same age range. However, their health status generally declines with the passage of time and the gap between immigrants and non-immigrants narrows as well (Pérez, 2002).

Contrary to what was observed in younger age groups, recent immigrant seniors report less positive health than non-immigrant seniors. In 2003, 28% of immigrant seniors who settled in Canada between 1981 and 2003 rated their health as either excellent or very good, compared to 38% of Canadian-born seniors and 36% of long-term immigrant seniors who had landed in Canada before 1981 (Table 7.4).

These differences between immigrants and non-immigrants cannot be explained by age differences between the two groups. In 2003, the mean age for recent immigrant seniors (those who came in Canada in 1981 or after) was 73.6 years old, compared to 73.9 for long-term immigrants (those who came before 1981) and 74.0 for non-immigrant seniors. Since recent immigrant seniors are slightly younger on average, they should in fact be more likely to report more positive health than non-immigrants, which is not the case.

A similar pattern is evident for individuals aged between 55 and 64 years old. Immigrants in that age group, especially more recent immigrants, were significantly less likely to report excellent or very good health than non-immigrants. In that age range though, the proportion of non-immigrants reporting poor or fair health was almost identical to that of recent immigrants (17% versus 18%).

The higher prevalence of low income among recent immigrants is probably a factor underlying their less positive health status. Overall, 35% of seniors in the lowest income quartile reported fair or poor health, about twice the proportion of those in the highest income quartile (17%). According to the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, 26% of recent immigrant seniors were in the lowest income quartile. This was the case for only 15% of non-immigrant seniors and 12% of immigrant seniors who came to Canada before 1981. Supplementary information on income is presented below in this chapter.

Chronic conditions

In 2003, the proportion of immigrant seniors affected by a chronic health condition was no different than that of non-immigrants (90.5%).This percentage, as well as others presented in this section, should be interpreted cautiously; respondents were asked to report chronic conditions that had been diagnosed by a health specialist.

Some types of chronic conditions were less prevalent among immigrant seniors than among non-immigrants (Table 7.5). For example only 12% of recent immigrant seniors reported that they had allergies (other than food), almost half the proportion reported by non-immigrant seniors (23%).

Recent immigrant seniors were also significantly less likely to report having arthritis or rheumatism (36% versus 48% of non-immigrant seniors).

On the other hand, recent immigrant seniors were more likely than either non-immigrants or long-term immigrants to suffer from high blood pressure and cataracts. In 2003, 49% of recent immigrant seniors (came to Canada between 1981 and 2003) reported that they had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, compared with 42% of Canadian-born seniors.

Dependence in daily activities

In 2003, respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey were asked if, because of any physical condition or mental condition or health problem, they needed the help of another person to perform any everyday activities (see Table 2.1.9 in Chapter 2). Results showed that the majority of seniors were able to carry out these activities without difficulty, although the extent to which seniors needed help varied from one province to the other.

Recent immigrant seniors are more likely than long-term immigrants and non-immigrants to need another person's help to prepare meals, to do everyday housework and heavy household chores, to get to an appointment or to run errands, and to look for their personal finances (Table 7.6). For example, about 23% of recent immigrant seniors said that they needed the help of someone to do their everyday housework, compared to 15% of non-immigrant seniors and 17% of long-term immigrant seniors. Also, the proportion of recent immigrants who needed assistance for their personal finances was more than twice that of non-immigrants (19% versus 8%). Languages barriers might explain this latter difference. Less knowledge of the way Canadian financial institutions function (including banks and government agencies) could be another underlying factor.

While recent immigrant seniors are more likely to need assistance for some of their everyday activities, they are less likely than non-immigrants to receive home care that is entirely or partially funded by government. In 2003, a similar proportion of recent immigrant seniors and Canadian-born seniors (about 9%) said that they received some home services paid by the government in the past 12 months. However, among seniors who needed help with their everyday activities, the difference between immigrants and non-immigrants was greater. Specifically, only 10% of recent immigrant seniors who needed help received services from the government, compared to 20% of both Canadian-born and long-term immigrant seniors with the same need for help. Recent immigrants might not be aware of the services available to them. Alternatively, they might have more practical difficulties in obtaining these services than Canadian-born seniors.

Mental health

As illustrated in Chapter 2.1, mental health is generally more positive among people of older ages. Even if many seniors face more serious health problems, they are more likely to report higher levels of well-being and less likely to experience psychological distress.

Previous research has suggested the existence of some cultural differences in the interpretation of mental health questions, or in the willingness to report symptoms of depression or alcohol dependence (e.g. Noh et al., 1992). It is possible that recent immigrants provided different answers than the Canadian-born not only because of their objective situation but also because of cultural factors. However, it is not possible to estimate the extent to which this is the case.

Psychological distress includes feelings of nervousness, sadness, hopelessness, unworthiness, and other negative emotions. In 2002, although the level of psychological distress was somewhat low for the majority of seniors, recent immigrant seniors reported even lower levels than non-immigrant seniors. Their average score on the scale of psychological distress, which ranges from 0 (low distress) to 40 (highest distress), was 3.5, compared to 4.4 for Canadian-born seniors and 3.8 for long-term immigrant seniors.

These differences between recent immigrants and Canadian-born seniors were reflected in the answers given on many items included in the psychological distress scale. For example, about one-third (34%) of Canadian-born seniors said that they had felt tired out for no good reason either some of the time, most of the time or all of the time in the last month. In contrast, only 22% of recent immigrants reported this. Also, 23% of Canadian-born seniors said that they had felt nervous at least some of the time in the last month, significantly higher than the 15% of non-immigrant seniors who said so.

Somewhat paradoxically however, recent immigrant seniors' score on the well-being scale (higher score, on the 3 to 100 scale, means greater well-being) was slightly lower than that of Canadian-born seniors (respectively, 80.2 and 85.3). Long-term immigrant seniors' average score on that well-being scale felt in-between, at 84.4.

On various dimensions of the well-being scale, recent immigrant seniors reported slightly less positive answers than non-immigrants. For example when asked if, during the last month, they were curious and interested in all sorts of things (almost always, frequently, half the time, rarely or never), a little less than half of recent immigrant seniors (45%) said that they were almost always curious and interested, lower than the proportion of Canadian-born seniors who said so (54%). However on many other issues regarding well-being, immigrant and non-immigrant seniors showed no signs of lower levels of well-being. For example, almost the same proportion of recent immigrant seniors (60%) and non-immigrants (61%) said that they had almost always smiled easily during the last month.

In sum, recent immigrant seniors are slightly less likely than non-immigrants to suffer from psychological distress, but they are also slightly less likely to report a higher level of well-being.

Health related behaviours

Immigrant seniors generally have more positive health related behaviours than non-immigrants. In this section, information is presented on three types of health related behaviours: smoking, drinking and physical activity.

Recent immigrant seniors are less likely to be daily smokers than non-immigrants and proportionally more have never smoked (Table 7.7). In 2003, the proportion of recent immigrant seniors who had never smoked in their life was twice that of the Canadian-born (63% versus 31%). The difference between recent immigrants and non-immigrants was even more pronounced in the 55 to 64 age group: 55% of recent immigrants had never smoked, while this was the case for only 23% of non-immigrants. Long-term immigrant seniors were also less likely to be daily smokers than non-immigrants.

Secondly, recent immigrants are less likely to be heavy drinkers than non-immigrants. The difference between long-term immigrant and non-immigrant seniors is not statistically significant, but in the 55 to 64 age group, the proportion of heavy drinkers among recent immigrants was about half that of non-immigrant seniors (Chart 7.5). These differences between immigrants and non-immigrants have been reported in previous studies (Pérez, 2002), and might be explained by cultural and religious factors (particularly associated with recent immigration), which are not modified with migration.

On the third indicator, physical activity, recent immigrant seniors are no different from long-term immigrant and Canadian-born seniors. In other words, they are just as likely to be physically active as the two other groups. However, long-term immigrant seniors are slightly more likely to be active or moderately active than non-immigrants. In 2003, about 46% of them were considered as active or moderately active, compared to 41% of Canadian-born seniors. Previous analysis has shown that in contrast with other health related behaviours, there is no clear pattern of convergence between the Canadian-born and immigrants over time in terms of physical inactivity at leisure time (Pérez, 2002). The results reported here support that interpretation.

Access to health services: frequency of medical consultations and unmet health care needs

In 2003, the great majority of immigrant and non-immigrant seniors had a regular medical doctor (95%). However, the frequency with which immigrants and Canadian-born seniors consulted their doctor was significantly different. While 41% of recent immigrant seniors had reported six or more medical consultations in a year, this was the case for 35% of long-term immigrant seniors and only 31% for non-immigrant seniors (Table 7.8).

Individuals with greater medical needs were generally most likely to feel that their health care needs were not fulfilled. Indeed in 2003, the proportion of recent immigrant seniors who reported that their health needs were not satisfied was about twice that of non-immigrants (13% and 6% respectively). As mentioned in Chapter 2, individuals living in low income are more likely to have unmet health care needs. The greater proportion of recent immigrant seniors living in low income, in addition to their less positive self-rated health and their more frequent consultations with doctors, are three factors underlying the association between immigration status and the perception that necessary health care requirements were not satisfied.

Insurance coverage

Recent immigrant seniors, whose experience in the Canadian labour market was likely to have been short-term or non-existent, are much less likely than Canadian-born seniors to have health insurance of any variety. For example in 2003, only 14% of recent immigrant seniors had hospital charges insurance (Table 7.9); these proportions were over three times higher for long-term immigrant (40%) and for Canadian-born seniors (47%). The same gap existed for all types of insurance, although the differences between immigrants and non-immigrants were of smaller magnitude.

Among 55- to 64-year-olds, relatively few recent immigrants had insurance for prescription medications. Some provinces like Québec have universal prescription medication insurance, but in some regions, people have to rely on collective or private plans. In 2003, only 48% of recent immigrants in the 55 to 64 age group were covered by insurance for prescription medications. In contrast, about 82% of the Canadian-born in the 55 to 64 age range had insurance for their medications. As recent immigrants approach the age at which medication costs become increasingly demanding, more than half of them are not covered by insurance.

Immigrant seniors' financial well-being

Many researchers have shown that immigrants landing in Canada during the early 1990s faced more economic difficulties than previous cohorts of immigrants. For instance, compared to the earlier cohorts of immigrants and to Canadian-born citizens of similar age and profile, recent immigrants experienced higher unemployment rates, lower earnings and greater difficulties in matching their qualifications with their employment (Picot and Sweetman, 2005). These realities have potentially important implications for the next generation of immigrant seniors, since well-being in one's sixties and beyond is in many cases influenced by well-being in one's pre-retirement years.

How does the current generation of immigrant seniors, both recent and long-term, fare compared to non-immigrant seniors? In a recent study, Palameta (2004) has shown that mid-term immigrant seniors (those aged 65 and over who had been in Canada from 7 to 16 years) were more likely than Canadian-born seniors to have experienced low income for at least one year in six (based on data from 1993 to 2001). According to this study:

". mid-term immigrant seniors, having arrived in Canada in their 50s or late 40s, had not had much time to accumulate C/QPP or private pension benefits. Furthermore, those not in Canada for 10 years would not normally be eligible for OAS/GIS. Over 80% of mid-term immigrant seniors whose primary source of family income was pensions or government transfers experienced low income for at least one year, compared with only 15% of Canadian-born seniors and 17% of early immigrant seniors." (Palameta, 2004: 15).

Data from the 2001 Census of Canada are consistent with the conclusions of that study: immigrant seniors who settled in Canada in 1961 or before were the least likely to be in low income (16%), while the most likely were those who arrived between 1991 and 2001 (24%).

Immigrant seniors who live alone, and particularly women, are much more likely to be in a low-income situation than those who are part of a couple or an economic family. Recent immigrants who live alone are even more likely to live in low income (Chart 7.6). For example in 2000, among female immigrants aged 65 and over who lived alone and who landed in Canada after 1990, 71% were in a low-income situation. In contrast, this was the case for 42% of Canadian-born women living alone. For senior men living alone, the picture was similar: the longer the period of time spent in Canada, the lower the likelihood of living in low income.

It should be noted however, that senior men and women who immigrated recently and live alone represent a somewhat small number of individuals. In 2001, the total number of recent immigrant senior women who lived alone was 7,100 (5,000 of whom were in a low-income situation); this compares to approximately 625,000 Canadian-born women aged 65 and over who lived alone (260,000 of whom were in low income).

That said, recent immigrant seniors who were living in a family were also more likely to be in low income (Chart 7.7). For example, 4.6% of Canadian-born senior men living in a family were in a low income situation in 2000, compared to 20.4% of recent immigrant men.

In the last 20 years, the proportion of senior men and women living in low income has declined significantly (see Chapter 2.2 for more details). However the decline was of lesser magnitude for immigrant seniors than for non-immigrant seniors (Table 7.10). For example, among recent immigrant seniors living in a family, the percentage in low income declined by 11% between 1980 and 2000 (from 19.7% to 17.4%). In contrast, the incidence of low income for Canadian-born seniors living in a family fell by 50% during the same period (9.7% in 1980 to 4.8% in 2000).³

Security from crime

Seniors are significantly less likely to be victims of a crime than younger people (see Chapter 2). In 2004, immigrant seniors were neither more nor less likely to say they had been victims of a crime in the past year than non-immigrants (about 10%).

Part C) Educational attainment, labour market participation and retirement

Immigrant seniors, like non-immigrants, are much more likely to have a post-secondary certificate or university degree than they were 25 years ago (Chart 7.8). Only 15% of long-term immigrant seniors held some form of post-secondary credential in 1981;⁴ by 2001, that proportion had doubled to 30%.

New immigrants entering Canada have, on average, a higher level of educational attainment than Canadian-born people of the same age. For example, 38% of immigrants aged between 25 and 44 and who arrived in Canada between 1991 and 2001 had a university degree in 2001, compared to only 19% of Canadian born in the same age range. However, the situation is somewhat different among most recent immigrant seniors. In 2001, 22% of them had some post-secondary credentials, compared to 24% of Canadian-born seniors. Many recent immigrant seniors have been admitted under the family class category, which does not require any type of qualification in terms of education.

Labour market participation of immigrant seniors

Recent immigrant seniors are somewhat different than long-term immigrants and non-immigrants regarding their labour market participation over their life-course. According to the 2001 Census, 40% of immigrant seniors who came to live in Canada between 1991 and 2001 had never worked for pay (Table 7.11). In contrast, only 12% of non-immigrant seniors were in the same situation.

The difference was more pronounced among men. In 2001, 31% of senior men who immigrated to Canada between 1991 and 2001 had never worked in Canada. That proportion decreased to 10.2% for those who had come to Canada in the 1970s, and to 4.2% among those who had arrived in Canada before the 1960s. However, these proportions do not necessarily indicate that more recent immigrants had never worked in their country of origin.

Participation rates after 65 years of age did not vary much by immigration status. In 2001, recent immigrants were just as likely as long-term immigrants or non-immigrants to be in the labour force. However, recent immigrant seniors in the labour force were not necessarily employed. In 2001, unemployment rates were significantly higher for immigrant seniors who had come to Canada more recently than for long-term immigrants and non-immigrants (Chart 7.9).

Retirement

Immigrants generally retire later than the Canadian-born. In 2002, the average age at first retirement of recently retired immigrants (those who had retired between 1992 and 2002) was 61.5 years, compared to 59.7 years for non-immigrants. Put differently, about 30% of immigrants retired at 65 years or older, compared to 19% of non-immigrants.

Financial as well as non-financial preparations for retirement are important considerations for near-retirees, as an adequate preparation affects well-being in retirement (Schellenberg, Turcotte and Ram, 2005). There are some indications that among individuals approaching retirement, more recent immigrants are less well-prepared than the Canadian-born.

In Statistics Canada 2002 General Social Survey, near-retirees were asked "Do you feel that you are adequately preparing financially for your retirement?". While 29% of Canadian-born near-retirees believed that their financial preparations were inadequate, this was the case for 45% of those who had immigrated to Canada since 1980. Respondents of the survey were also asked "At the age that you plan to retire, do you think that your income and investments will be more than adequate, adequate, barely adequate, inadequate or very inadequate to maintain your standard of living?". One-half (50%) of immigrants who had arrived since 1980 expected their retirement income to be less than adequate. In contrast, only about one-third (36%) of Canadian-born near-retirees believed so.

Finally, immigrants are more likely to retire involuntarily than non-immigrants (34% versus 25%) and when asked: "compared to the year before you retired, do you enjoy life more, less or about the same?", immigrants are slightly less likely to report enjoying retirement. Specifically, 17% of immigrants who had retired recently reported that they enjoyed life less in retirement, compared to 10% of non-immigrants retirees.

Part D) Supporting and caring in the community

The majority of seniors are not working for pay. However, many of them are active in their communities. This section examines "social capital" indicators, for example participation in organizations, social networks and social support. It documents the extent to which immigrant seniors are more or less involved in these types of activities than Canadian-born seniors. It also presents information about immigrant seniors' living arrangements.

Living arrangements

One of the important distinguishing characteristics of recent immigrant seniors (men and women) is that they are much less likely to live alone than long-term immigrant or Canadian-born seniors (Chart 7.10).

Like the general population, the proportion of seniors living alone is higher in older age groups. But in all age groups, the more recent the period of immigration, the lower the likelihood of living alone (Chart 7.11). One explanation of this situation resides in the fact that many recent immigrant seniors are sponsored by members of their family, with whom they occupy the same housing when they arrive in Canada.

Family

Immigrants, and especially those from non-European cultures, are sometimes perceived to be generally more family-oriented than the Canadian-born. Data from the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey provide some support for these perceptions. In that survey, respondents were asked, using a scale from 1 to 5 (where 1 is "not strong at all" and 5 is "very strong"), to rate their sense of belonging to their family. About 63% of recent immigrant seniors rated their sense of belonging to their family as very strong (score of 5), compared to 58% of long-term immigrants and 55% of non-immigrants.

That said, there were only slight differences between immigrant and non-immigrant seniors regarding the number of family members they felt close to, or the frequency with which they saw members of their families.

In 2003, 8% of all seniors said that they had no relative they felt close to. That proportion was no different between immigrants and non-immigrants. And while immigrant seniors were slightly less likely to have seen their family members in the previous month (75% versus 85% of the Canadian-born), they were just as likely to have had telephone contacts with their family members in the last month (91% of all seniors had telephone contacts with their relatives). Some members of immigrant seniors' families might be in other countries, which could prevent seeing them as frequently in person, but not talking with them over the phone.

Social relationships and social networks

Social relationships, including those with family, close friends, neighbours and acquaintances, contribute importantly to well-being, for seniors as for the population in general (see Chapter 4.2). Immigrant seniors who have been in Canada for a long time might have had the chance to develop their social networks. However, more recent immigrants could have experienced more difficulties in sustaining meaningful social relationships.

A greater proportion of seniors report that they do not have any close friends, that is people who are not their relatives but with whom they feel at ease, can talk to about what is on their mind, or call for help (see Chapter 4.2 for details). However, immigrant seniors are no more likely to be socially isolated than non-immigrant seniors (about 13% of all seniors said that they had no close friends). The same was true for the other (not close) friends that seniors may have: immigrant and non-immigrant seniors were just as likely to say that they have at least one or more of these "other friends".

Moreover, immigrant seniors are just as likely as non-immigrant seniors to see their friends frequently, and also as likely to meet new people (met in the last month) with whom they intend to stay in contact. In sum, immigrant seniors do not appear to be more socially isolated from friends than non-immigrants.

Care received by seniors suffering from a long-term health condition

In Chapter 4.3, it was highlighted that in 2002, close to one million seniors (945,000) who lived in private dwellings received help because they had a long-term health problem or physical condition that affected their ability to engage in day-to-day activities (26% of all seniors). This percentage varied substantially with age, with 34% of seniors aged between 75 and 84 receiving care for health-related reasons and 60% of seniors aged 85 and over.

Among seniors in the 65 to 74 age range, immigrants were as likely as Canadian-born seniors to receive care because of a long-term health problem. In the 75 and over age group,⁵ long-term immigrants were only slightly less likely to have received care (34%) than the Canadian-born (41%). The percentage of recent immigrants getting such help did not differ significantly from these two groups.

Among immigrant and non-immigrant seniors who received care, the source of that help was not the same in many cases. Recent immigrants who received care were more likely (65%) to be provided exclusively by informal sources (family, spouse, etc.) than Canadian-born and long-term immigrant seniors (44%). This is consistent with the fact that recent immigrant seniors are much less likely to live alone, and that living alone is associated with a reduced likelihood of receiving only informal help.

Social engagement and participation in organizations

According to the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, 42% of non-immigrant seniors were members of a voluntary organization, while this was the case for 38% of long-term immigrant seniors and for 23% of recent immigrant seniors.

The sense of belonging to the community is strongly associated with involvement in voluntary organizations or associations. Conversely, involvement in voluntary organizations might enforce the sense of belonging to the community. For example in 2003, 58% of all seniors who said that they had a very strong sense of belonging to their local community were members of a voluntary organization or association. That proportion dropped to 12% among those who said that their sense of belonging to their local community was very weak.

Immigrants, and particularly more recent immigrants, generally have a lower sense of belonging to their local community than Canadian-born seniors. This is understandable since the sense of belonging generally increases with the length of time spent in a community (Schellenberg, 2004b). This can help to explain, at least in part, why immigrant seniors are less likely to be involved in voluntary organizations. In 2003, only 12% of recent immigrant seniors said that they had a very strong sense of belonging to their local community. In contrast, 21% of long-term immigrant seniors and 27% of non-immigrant seniors expressed a very strong sense of belonging to their local community.

Importance of religion

Seniors are generally more religious than younger persons: they attend religious services more often, they are less likely to report no religious affiliation and they are more likely to report that religion is important in their life than younger persons (see Chapter 5.2 for details).

Immigrant seniors are even more likely to be religious than seniors in general. In the Ethnic Diversity Survey of 2002, respondents were asked to answer, using a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is "not important at all" and 5 is "very important"), how important is your religion to you?. A majority of seniors reported that religion was "very important" to them, that is they gave the maximum score of 5. But while 55% of Canadian-born seniors said so, this was the case for 58% of long-term immigrant seniors and 63% of recent immigrant seniors.

Notes:

1. Area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a census metropolitan area, the urban core must have a population of at least 100,000.
2. In 1981, there were 24 Census Metropolitan Areas compared to 27 in 2001. This explains part of the increase in the percentage of the population living in CMAs.
3. Source: Statistics Canada, Ethnic Diversity Survey, 2002.
4. In that particular context, long-term immigrant seniors are those who, in 1981, had settled in Canada in 1960 or sooner.
5. Because the sample was not large enough, it was not possible to break down the immigrant senior population into the two categories used in Chapter 4, i.e. 75 to 84 and 85 and over.