New research reveals the racial, social, and geographic divides of Toronto’s housing crisis, with racialized communities, newcomers, and refugees hardest hit

Spaces and Places of Exclusion: Mapping Rental Housing Disparities for Toronto’s Racialized and Immigrant Communities, a new visual portrait of rental housing challenges in Toronto released today, reveals deep racial, social, and geographic divides, with communities of colour, newcomers, and refugees hardest hit by the housing crisis. This first-of-its-kind study, researched and written by Beth Wilson (Social Planning Toronto), Naomi Lightman (University of Calgary), and Luann Good Gingrich (York University), uses individual census data records only available through Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centres to take a deep dive into Toronto’s rental housing crisis. The results are presented through over 50 new maps and figures, with accompanying analysis of policy and research implications. 

“Toronto’s housing crisis is a story of growing geographic divides, economic inequality, and exclusion,” said Luann Good Gingrich, Associate Professor at York University. “Our research shows housing disparities across Toronto’s 25 wards. For example, in terms of overcrowding, our data show that the problem is twofold: Areas of the inner suburbs, where there is more racial diversity, have the highest rates of overcrowding; but lower rates of overcrowding in the core reflect a different kind of exclusion, as the higher cost of smaller units makes downtown rental housing inaccessible to families or larger households. This dynamic contributes to intensifying racial segregation and spatial divides in Toronto — a reality laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
 
Beth Wilson, Senior Researcher with Social Planning Toronto, added, “Our research findings demonstrate the multi-faceted aspects of the housing crisis, where many residents, particularly newcomers, racialized individuals, and refugees, live in overcrowded housing conditions as a means of coping with the severe lack of affordable rental housing — conditions that contribute to a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.”  

Among Toronto residents in tenant households, research findings show rates of affordable housing need are similarly high for racialized and non-racialized individuals, affecting just over two in five residents. However, rates are much higher for specific racialized populations in tenant households, including Korean, West Asian, Arab, and Chinese individuals, affecting more than half of each of these groups. By contrast, the rate of overcrowding in rental housing is almost three times higher for racialized than non-racialized individuals in Toronto’s tenant households, with the highest rates among Filipino, South Asian, Arab, and West Asian populations, affecting 49% or more of each of these groups.

“Our findings also reveal important ways in which race and immigrant status intersect in Toronto’s housing crisis,” said Naomi Lightman, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. “For example, while the rate of overcrowding in rental housing is lower for Toronto residents born in Canada, this is not the case if you’re racialized. Among Toronto residents in tenant households who were born in Canada, 48% of racialized individuals compared to just 14% of non-racialized residents live in overcrowded housing.”

The report provides nine policy directions to advance the human right to housing; address the racial, social, and spatial dimensions of the crisis; and safeguard communities, particularly those at greatest risk from the pandemic. Amidst the second wave of the pandemic, the researchers call on the City of Toronto, Ontario government, and federal government to demonstrate bold leadership in response to this health and housing crisis — a critical matter of public health, human rights, and racial justice.

Find the full report, an executive summary, and a one-pager at socialplanningtoronto.org/exclusion >>

Spaces and Places of Exclusion: Mapping Rental Housing Disparities for Toronto’s Racialized and Immigrant Communities was researched and written by Beth Wilson (Social Planning Toronto), Naomi Lightman (University of Calgary), and Luann Good Gingrich (York University). Research partners include SPT, York, the Global Labour Research Centre, and the University of Calgary. This work is part of a larger project entitled Tracing and Addressing Social Exclusion in Canada (TASC).

Social Planning Toronto is a non-profit community organization that works to improve equity, social justice, and quality of life in Toronto through community capacity building, community education and advocacy, policy research and analysis, and social reporting. SPT is committed to building a “civic society,” one in which diversity, equity, social and economic justice, interdependence, and active participation are central to all aspects of our lives — in our families, neighbourhoods, voluntary and recreational activities, and in our politics.
 
Tracing and Addressing Social Exclusion in Canada (TASC) is a five-year study supported by a SSHRC Insight Grant, led by Dr. Luann Good Gingrich (Principal Investigator) with Dr. Naomi Lightman and Dr. Rupa Banerjee (Co-investigators). The study examines social exclusion in Canada through quantitative analyses of Statistics Canada datasets and is informed by qualitative exploration. Objectives of the research are to measure the economic, spatial, and socio-political forms of social exclusion; to analyze how these forms of exclusion interact and reinforce one another; to examine social dynamics defined by race/ethnicity, immigrant status, age, and gender, with regional comparisons; to detect mitigating factors and strategies; and to translate findings to facilitate targeted social policies and improved ground-level practice. Social Planning Toronto is a community partner in the TASC project, working with Dr. Good Gingrich and Dr. Lightman to develop a visual analysis of spatial exclusion in Toronto as part of this broad research agenda.