Infographic: Evictions in Canada, 2021

July 21, 2022, 3:30 p.m. (EDT)

A portrait of forced moves in Canada.

Description - Evictions in Canada, 2021

In 2021 (1), 7% of Canadian Housing Survey respondents (2) reported being evicted in the past.

  • 4% of respondents who are homeowners
  • 12% of respondents who are renters
  • 15% of respondents living in social and affordable housing (3)
  • 6% of respondents not living in social and affordable housing
  • 30% of respondents who have experienced homelessness
  • 6% of respondents who have not experienced homelessness

Percentage of each group that experienced an eviction

  percentage
Indigenous (First Nations members living off reserve, Métis and Inuit (4)) 13%
First Nations 12%
Métis 14%
Non-Indigenous 7%
Visible minority (5) 5%
South Asian 2%
Chinese 3%
Black 12%
Filipino 2%
Arab 7%
Not a visible minority 7%

The top 5 reasons reported for evictions

  percentage
Sale of property by landlord 37%
Landlord wanted the unit for own use 26%
Conflict with the landlord 13%
Demolition, conversion, or major repairs by the landlord 10%
Being behind on rent payments 8%

 

Note: Respondents were asked: “Have you ever been forced to move from a dwelling you rented?”

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Housing Survey, 2021.

Notes

  1. For 2021, the totals reflect numbers for the provinces only.
  2. “Respondent” refers to the household member responsible for housing decisions who completed the survey questionnaire.
  3. “Social and affordable housing” refers to housing in which allocation and rent-setting mechanisms are not influenced by supply and demand.
  4. Inuit estimates were suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act.
  5. The visible minority category excludes the Indigenous population.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136514-283-8300infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).