VisibleVisible minorityminority neighbourhoodsneighbourhoods inin ,Toronto, Montréal,Montréal, andand VancouverVancouver by Feng Hou and Garnett Picot

ithin ’s large cities, 1991 and another one third (30%) are bonds associated with immigration may ethnic neighbourhoods Canadian-born.3 In 2001, the three draw together newcomers of the same W with a significant presence largest groups, in the decreasing order origin.4 Visible minority neighbour- of a visible vividly of their population size, were the hoods could form rapidly if immigrants reflect how successive waves of immi- South Asians, Chinese, and Blacks in from a minority group settle exclusively grants have adjusted and adapted to Toronto; Blacks, Arabs and West Canadian society. The once up-and- Asians, and South Asians in Montréal; coming neighbourhoods of some and the Chinese, South Asians, and 1. Visible minorities are defined by the earlier European immigrant groups, Filipinos in . Employment Equity Act as “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are such as “Little Italy” or “Little Greece,” In this article, the expansion of non-Caucasian in race or non-white in have gradually dispersed or stopped visible minority neighbourhoods in colour.” Chinese, South Asians and growing as the result of declining Canada’s three largest CMAs is exam- Blacks are among the groups identified ined using Census data from 1981 to as visible minorities in the Employment immigration from these countries. Equity regulations. Unlike the 19th and early 20th cen- 2001. The article explores how visible 2. . 2003. 2001 Census: tury, immigrants arriving in the later minority neighbourhoods were formed. analysis series. Canada’s Ethnocultural half of the 20th century have settled pri- In particular, are they formed by non- Portrait: The Changing Mosaic (Statis- marily in a few large metropolitan areas. visible minority residents moving out tics Canada Catalogue no: 96F0030XIE 2001008). Many of these recent immigrants as large numbers of a visible minority belong to visible minority groups.1 In group move into the neighbourhood? 3. In 2001, another 3% of visible minorities were non-permanent residents. 2001, nearly three-quarters (73%) of 4. The Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to the nation’s 4 million visible minori- Visible minority neighbourhoods Canada, conducted during 2000 and ties lived in Canada’s largest census are formed in a variety of ways 2001, found that family and friends were a metropolitan areas (CMAs): Toronto, There are many possible reasons for the strong magnet for newcomers. In fact, Montréal, and Vancouver.2 According establishment of visible minority neigh- 41% of newcomers chose where they live because they had a family member living to the 2001 Census of Population, bourhoods in Canada’s largest cities. there and 18% chose because they had about one third (34%) of the visible International immigration has histori- friends living there. Statistics Canada. minority population entered Canada cally provided a demographic base for 2003. Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada: Process, Progress and during the 1990s, one third (33%) are the emergence of ethnic neighbour- Prospects (Statistics Canada Catalogue immigrants who entered Canada before hoods. Kinship ties and community no. 89-611).

8 CANADIAN SOCIAL TRENDS SPRING 2004 Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 What you should know about this study

This study used data from the 1981 to 2001 censuses. matched using published conversion tables. New tracts Census tracts are small geographic areas that usually created due to CMA expansion are excluded from the have a population of a few thousand. In 2001, the median longitudinal analysis of visible minority neighbourhoods. population size of tracts was about 4,000 to 5,000. In this The composition of the population in census tracts is article, a census tract is the basic unit of neighbourhood. traced between 1981 and 2001 using longitudinally- A census tract becomes a visible minority neighbourhood matched census tracts. Each tract is classified into one of if a visible minority group represents over 30% of the four types based on the characteristics of the change in population of the tract. composition: relative concentration, rapid replacement, The isolation index measures the extent to which minor- gradual transition and stable or in decline. In the case of ity group members are exposed only to one another in “relative concentration”, both non-visible minorities and a their neighbourhood.1 The index ranges from 0 to 100, visible minority group increased in numbers in a neigh- and is interpreted as the probability that a member of one bourhood, but the visible minority group increased at a group will only meet other members of the same group. faster pace. For both “rapid replacement” and “gradual In this article, the groups are particular visible minorities. transition”, the non-visible minority population in the For example, an isolation index value of 13 for Blacks in neighbourhood decreases while a visible minority group Toronto is interpreted as Blacks having a 13% chance of increases. “Rapid replacement” and “gradual transition” only meeting other Blacks in their neighbourhood. only differ in the rate of decrease of the non-visible minor- ity population. “Rapid replacement” implies that the rate The isolation index depends on a group’s residential of decrease of the non-visible minority population is segregation where a group becomes increasingly con- faster than that of “gradual transition.”2 Lastly, a minority centrated in particular neighbourhoods and on its neighbourhood is classified as “stable or in decline” if the proportion in the CMA’s population. The effect upon the percentage of the minority group did not increase isolation index of changes in a group’s proportion in the between 1981 and 2001. CMA’s population between two time points can be esti- mated by holding the group’s initial distribution constant. Changes in the composition of visible minority neighbourhoods 1. Massey, D.S. and N.A. Denton. 1993. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Cambridge: Between 1981 and 2001, the population in some neigh- Harvard University Press. bourhoods grew substantially. When substantial growth 2. Visible minority neighbourhoods formed by rapid replace- occurs within a tract, the census divides it into two or ment have a non-visible minority population that decreases at more tracts. New tracts are also added as the boundaries a rate higher than the median rate among all tracts that expe- rienced decreases in the non-visible minority population.The of CMAs expand. To study changes in neighbourhoods median rate of decrease between 1981 and 2001 was 24% in over the 20-year period, census tracts were longitudinally Toronto, 20% in Montréal and 21% in Vancouver.

How visible minority neighbourhoods are formed

Number of longitudinally-matched census tracts Method of formation that are visible minority neighbourhoods in 2001 Total 142 Relative concentration 12 Gradual transition 15 Rapid replacement 111 Stable or in decline 4

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2001.

Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 SPRING 2004 CANADIAN SOCIAL TRENDS 9 in neighbourhoods where members of Visible minorities have an increasing share of the population the same minority already live. in Canada’s three largest CMAs Concentration of a visible minority is most likely to occur in neighbour- hoods with new housing developments Visible minority group as a Isolation index % of the total population and owner-occupied housing. Mem- Toronto bers of a visible minority group who arrive in large numbers may have a South Asian 1981 2.7 6 strong demand for home ownership, 1991 6.0 12 which can only be satisfied where 2001 10.6 20 housing is in plentiful supply. Group Chinese 1981 3.1 10 differences in housing demand and 1991 6.4 17 the spatial concentration of the sup- 2001 9.2 26 ply of housing in a given period may Black 1981 4.1 8 influence the formation of visible 1991 6.2 11 minority neighbourhoods. 2001 6.9 13 New immigrants could also be restricted to poor neighbourhoods with Montréal affordable housing since they often Black 1981 1.8 5 come at the bottom of the socio- 1991 3.2 8 economic ladder in the receiving 2001 4.2 10 society. Many neighbourhoods experi- Arab/West Asian 1981 1.2 6 ence a life cycle as the neighbourhoods 1991 3.0 11 age and as relative housing values 2001 2.4 7 change. The composition of the popu- South Asian 1981 0.6 3 lation of the neighbourhoods also changes as families in a neighbourhood 1991 1.0 4 are often at similar life stages (child- 2001 1.7 12 birth, children in school, children Vancouver leaving home, retirement). When neigh- Chinese 1981 6.8 18 bourhood housing no longer meets the 1991 10.9 24 needs for the residents’ stage in the life 2001 17.4 33 course, they may move away to be South Asian 1981 3.0 7 replaced by new immigrant groups. 1991 5.4 14 Residential segregation may also 2001 8.4 25 endure because of “social distance.”5 There may be own-group preference Filipino 1981 0.9 2 in choosing neighbours, either on the 1991 1.6 3 part of minority group members to 2001 2.9 5 stay in proximity to each other, or as Source: Statistics Canada, censuses of population. an avoidance strategy on the part of dominant group members. This tends to preserve ethnic residential segrega- tion.6 Racism and discrimination may also play a role. 5. Massey, D.S. 1981. “Social class and ethnic segregation: A reconsideration of methods and conclusions.” American Sociological Review 46, 5: 641-650; Driedger, L. 1989. The The number of visible minority Ethnic Factor: Identity in Diversity. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. neighbourhoods is growing 6. Schelling, T. 1971. “Dynamic models of segregation.” Journal of Mathematical Sociology 1: 143-186; Clark, W. 1989. “Residential segregation in American cities: Common ground In this article, a visible minority and differences in interpretation.” Population Research and Policy Review 8: 193-197. neighbourhood has over 30% of its population from a particular visible minority group. The number of such

10 CANADIAN SOCIAL TRENDS SPRING 2004 Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 neighbourhoods increased dramati- Isolation index increases for largest visible minority groups cally between 1981 and 2001 in Canada’s three largest metropolitan areas; 6 in 1981, 77 in 1991 and 254 % 7 Chinese South Asian Black Arab/West Filipino in 2001. More than 60% of these minority neighbourhoods were Chi- nese (157 out of 254), and they were Toronto primarily in Vancouver and Toronto. 30 About one third were South Asian (83), distributed primarily in Toronto 25 and Vancouver. There were relatively

20 few Black neighbourhoods in Cana- dian cities: 13 in 2001. This may be 15 because the Black population in Canada is a diverse population made- 10 up of people who have been in Canada for several generations as well 5 as immigrants from diverse regions, 1981 1991 2001 especially the Caribbean and Africa. Year Toronto and Vancouver have many Montréal more visible minority neighbour- 12 hoods (135 and 111, respectively in 2001) than Montréal (8). 10 In Toronto, most of the Chinese neighbourhoods are located in Scar- 8 borough, Markham and Richmond 6 Hill, and less than 10% of Chinese neighbourhoods are in the old China- 4 towns east and west of the downtown core. South Asian neighbourhoods 2 1981 1991 2001 are scattered over East York, North Year York, Scarborough, and . Blacks are concentrated Vancouver in Etobicoke and North York. In 35 Montréal, the few minority neigh- 30 bourhoods are scattered around the downtown area. In Vancouver, Chi- 25 nese neighbourhoods are primarily 20 located in the City of Vancouver and 15 in parts of Richmond and , while most of the South Asian neigh- 10 bourhoods are in Surrey. 5 0 1981 1991 2001 7. There was little overlap in the minority Year neighbourhoods of different groups. Among the 135 visible minority neigh- Note: 1996 was the first time a question on the population group was asked and used to derive bourhoods in Toronto, only in three did counts for visible minorities. Prior to 1996, data on visible minorities was derived from both Chinese and South Asians repre- responses to the ethnic origin question, in conjunction with other ethnocultural information, sent at least 30% of the neighbourhood such as language, place of birth and religion. These changes in particular affected counts population. In addition, in only one of the Arab/West Asian group. neighbourhood did both South Asians Source: Statistics Canada, censuses of population. and Blacks each have at least a 30% share of the population.

Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 SPRING 2004 CANADIAN SOCIAL TRENDS 11 Visible minorities increased their Asians, whose share almost tripled in moved out while visible minority presence in most neighbourhoods Montréal and Vancouver and quadru- group members moved in. In Mon- Not only has the number of minority pled in Toronto. tréal, all 3 Black and 3 South Asian neighbourhoods increased, but the For the Chinese in Vancouver, all neighbourhoods experienced rapid presence of visible minorities has also of the increase in their isolation index replacement. In Vancouver, 48 out of increased in other neighbourhoods. was due to the increase in their popu- the 55 newly-formed Chinese neigh- One of the measures of the average lation share. For South Asians and bourhoods and 5 out of 12 South presence of a group in neighbour- Blacks in Toronto, Blacks in Montréal Asian neighbourhoods experienced hoods across a CMA is the isolation and Filipinos in Vancouver, over 70% rapid replacement.9 index. This index is interpreted as the of the increase in their isolation index The visible minority presence probability that a member of a visible was associated with a larger popula- increased in visible minority neigh- minority group will meet only mem- tion share. Only among South Asians bourhoods and it also increased in bers of the same group in a particular in Vancouver and Montréal was neighbourhoods with lower concen- neighbourhood. increased residential segregation the trations of visible minorities. Even The isolation index for the Chinese dominant factor in growth in their for the Chinese, who had the highest in Toronto and Vancouver and for isolation index. concentration level in Vancouver and South Asians in all three CMAs Toronto among the selected groups, increased substantially. This was Visible minorities replace some only about half of its population influenced by the arrival of new non-visible minority residents lived in Chinese neighbourhoods immigrants from the same visible in minority neighbourhoods (i.e. with over 30% of the population minority groups and by the natural Most of the newly-formed visible who were Chinese). Less than 5% of the increase in visible minorities already minority neighbourhoods went Blacks in Toronto and Montréal lived in Canada. The Chinese in Toronto through a transition where the popu- in Black neighbourhoods, probably had an isolation index of 26% in lation of the visible minority group because the Black population is diverse. 2001. This was up from 10% in 1981. increased while the numbers of those As visible minority neighbour- The isolation index for the Chinese in who did not identify themselves as hoods have become more common, Vancouver increased to 33% in 2001 visible minorities decreased. When analysis suggests that rapid replace- from 18% in 1981. In 2001, the isola- the rate of decrease of the non-visible ment occurs only in the initial stage tion index for South Asians in minority in a neighbourhood is of neighbourhood transition. It is Vancouver was 25%; in Toronto, 20%; greater than the median of all unlikely to lead to a complete and in Montréal, 12%. Other visible neighbourhoods losing non-visible turnover of population groups. This minorities also experienced increases minority population, this transition is suggests that co-residence of members in their isolation indexes, although called “rapid replacement,” as a visi- from different groups is an important their isolation indexes remained ble minority group replaces some of element of communities, even in visi- much lower than those for South the non-visible minority residents. ble minority neighbourhoods. Asians and the Chinese. In Toronto, 23 out of 26 newly- The calculation of the isolation formed South Asian neighbourhoods, Visible minority neighbourhoods index is dependent on a group’s resi- 24 out of 32 newly-formed Chinese have higher unemployment rates dential segregation and upon the neighbourhoods, and 5 out of 6 of Visible minority neighbourhoods are group’s proportion of the total popu- Black neighbourhoods were created more likely to experience higher lation in the CMA. In nearly all of the through rapid replacement in which unemployment and low income rates cases where the isolation index has many non-visible minority residents than other neighbourhoods.10 As the increased, most of the increase is asso- ciated with the growth in a group’s share of the city population rather 8. The exception is Arabs/West Asians in Montréal, which had a larger share of the CMA than increased concentration of the population in 1991 than in 2001. This is mostly likely due to changes in the definition of group in particular neighbourhoods. the Arab/West Asian group. Visible minority groups have a much 9. The numbers of visible minority neighbourhoods in this paragraph refer to longitudinally matched census tracts where over 30% of the population belongs to a visible larger share of the populations of minority group. Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver in 10.Hou, F. and G. Picot. 2003. Visible Minority Neighbourhoods and Labour Market Out- 8 2001 than in 1981. The increase comes of Immigrants. Analytical Studies Branch research paper series (Statistics Canada is particularly strong among South Catalogue no. 11F0019MIE, no. 204).

12 CANADIAN SOCIAL TRENDS SPRING 2004 Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 presence of a minority group increases, visible minority neighbourhoods. Ethnic neighbourhoods may affect so does the unemployment rate and Through the 1980s and 1990s, the the socio-economic interaction both low-income rate. For example, in economic outcomes of successive within a minority group and between Toronto, even though the proportion waves of immigrants to Canada have the group and the rest of the society. of the population with university been declining,14 while their low- Residential concentration enables the degrees is similar across neighbour- income rate has been rising.15 Recent retention of ethnic identity and hoods with a Chinese presence,11 the immigrants tend to cluster in minor- the maintenance of religious, educa- unemployment rate12 rises from 5.7% ity communities, and their economic tional, and welfare institutions that in neighbourhoods with a minor pres- outcomes are inferior. This affects are crucial for the social interaction of ence of Chinese (less than 10%) to overall economic conditions of the the group. On the other hand, resi- 7.1% in neighbourhoods where the neighbourhoods where they live. dential concentration of minority Chinese account for at least 50% of groups may result in social isolation the population, and the low-income Summary and reduce minorities’ incentives to rate increases from 17% to 23%. The mass immigration of visible acquire the host-country language Chinese communities in Vancou- minorities has made the ethnic or to gain work experience and edu- ver and South Asian communities in mosaic in Canadian cities more cational qualifications. Although all three CMAs have similar trends diverse and visible. Visible minority neighbourhoods with a large concen- in unemployment and low-income neighbourhoods in Canada’s large tration of visible minorities tend to rates. In 2001, the Black neighbour- metropolitan areas rapidly expanded have poor economic status, in terms hoods in Montréal had particularly between 1981 and 2001. These minor- of high unemployment rates and low- high unemployment and low-income ity neighbourhoods were primarily income rates, this may be because rates, and high proportions of concentrated among the Chinese and about one third of visible minorities lone-parent families; the three neigh- South Asians in Toronto and Vancou- are recent immigrants. bourhoods with a “strong” Black ver. The rapid emergence of visible presence (over 30% Black) experi- minority neighbourhoods in Canada’s enced an average unemployment rate three largest CMAs is associated more of 21.7%, a low-income rate of 54%, with the increase in a group’s share and 41% of the families were lone- in the city population than with an Feng Hou is a senior analyst with parent families. A growing body of increased concentration of the group Business and Labour Market Analysis literature in the U.S. and Europe in particular neighbourhoods. Most Division and Garnett Picot is the points to the negative consequences of of the visible minority neighbour- Director General of Socio-economic living in deprived neighbourhoods on hoods were formed through an and Business Analysis Branch, individuals’ socio-economic mobility, increase in the visible minority group Statistics Canada. health status, and criminal activity.13 in a neighbourhood, with a corre- There are, of course, many reasons sponding decline in the non-visible for the poor economic outcomes in minority population.

11.“Neighbourhoods with a Chinese presence” refers to census tracts with at least one per- son who identified themselves as Chinese. 12.Unemployment rate is as of May 2001. 13.Massey, D.S. and N.A. Denton. 1993. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.; Pickett, K.E. and M. Pearl. 2000. “Multilevel analyses of neighbourhood socioeconomic context and health out- comes: A critical review.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 55, 2: 111-122. 14.Reitz, J. 2001. “Immigrant success in the knowledge economy: institutional changes and the immigrant experience in Canada, 1970-1995.” Journal of Social Issues 57: 579-613; Frenette, M. and R. Morissette. 2003. Will They Ever Converge? Earnings of Immigrants and Canadian-born Workers over the Last Two Decades. Analytical Studies Branch research paper series (Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11F0019MIE, no. 215). 15.Picot, G. and F. Hou. 2002. Rising Low-income among Recent Immigrants in Canada. Paper presented at the Canadian Employment Research Forum Conference and annual conference of the Canada Economics Association, May 30-June 2, 2002, .

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