Housing Statistics in Canada
Housing experiences in Canada: Veterans in 2018
by Jeff Randle, Zheren Hu and Zachary Thurston
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The Housing Experiences in Canada series of fact sheets highlights the diversity of housing situations experienced by different groups of people living across Canada.
This fact sheet focuses on Veterans living in private dwellings. Statistics below are derived from the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey (CHS). For the purposes of this analysis, Veterans were identified based on survey responses of the reference person for the household.Note 1 The reference person provides information on the characteristics of each household member. More fact sheets are available on the Housing Experiences in Canada issue page.
The National Housing Strategy Act (2019) declared that “the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right affirmed in international law.” Adequate housing is understood in international law as housing that provides secure tenure; is affordable; is habitable; provides access to basic infrastructure; is located close to employment, services and amenities; is accessible for people of all abilities; and is culturally appropriate.
This fact sheet focuses on the experience of Veterans living in private dwellings, using the following indicators collected and produced by Statistics Canada. These are: tenure status of household, shelter costs, housing affordability, condition of dwelling, core housing need, dwelling satisfaction, neighbourhood satisfaction, and household living arrangements.
While these indicators together do not perfectly measure adequate housing as defined in international law, they are nevertheless useful proxies for understanding the housing experiences of people living in Canada.
Tenure status of household
The tenure status of a household refers to whether the household owns or rents its private dwelling.Note 2 Homeownership is an important aspect of Canadian society and can affect outcomes for many housing indicators. For this reason, owner and renter households are often considered separately in housing analyses. In many cases, researchers further look at whether households in owner-occupied dwellings have mortgages on their dwellings and whether renter households pay subsidized rent.
According to the 2018 CHS, 73% of 578,500 Veterans lived in a private dwelling owned by a member of their household in 2018. This was comparable to the share of the total population (73%) living in owner-occupied dwellings.
The 424,500 Veterans who owned or who lived with someone who owned their homes can be further divided into the 207,800 Veterans (36%) who lived in a dwelling with a mortgage and the remaining 216,700 Veterans (37%) who lived in a dwelling without a mortgage. Veterans were less likely to live in an owner-occupied dwelling with a mortgage than the total population (49%), but more likely to live in a dwelling without a mortgage than the total population (25%).
The remaining 154,000 Veterans who lived in rented dwellings can be further divided into the 21,500 Veterans (4%) living in subsidized housing and the 132,200 Veterans (23%) not living in subsidized housing. These proportions are similar to the total population, where 3% of individuals lived in rented dwellings with a subsidy and 24% in rented dwellings without a subsidy.
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, tenure status | 578,500 | 100 | 36,444,100 | 100 |
| Owner | 424,500 | 73 | 26,694,500 | 73 |
| With a mortgage | 207,800 | 36Note * | 17,696,300 | 49 |
| Without a mortgage | 216,700 | 37Note * | 8,998,100 | 25 |
| Renter | 154,000 | 27 | 9,749,700 | 27 |
| Subsidized housing | 21,500 | 4 | 1,160,700 | 3 |
| Not subsidized housing | 132,200 | 23 | 8,570,300 | 24 |
Source: 2018 Canadian Housing Survey |
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Shelter costs
Shelter costs refer to the monthly dwelling-related expenses paid by households, including mortgage or rent. For owner-occupied dwellings, shelter costs include, where applicable, mortgage payments, property taxes and condominium fees, along with the costs of electricity, heat, water and other municipal services. For renter households, shelter costs include, where applicable, rent and the costs of electricity, heat, water and other municipal services.
In Canada, the median shelter cost paid by Veteran households was $800 in 2018.Note 3 This was lower than the median shelter cost of $1,050 for all private households.
Veteran households in owner-occupied dwellings ($760) also had lower median shelter costs than all households in owner-occupied dwellings ($1,140). For Veteran households in rented dwellings ($890), median shelter costs were comparable to all households ($960).
The median shelter cost paid by households in owner-occupied dwellings are typically larger when there is a mortgage on the dwelling, because a mortgage can represent a large portion of monthly shelter costs. Veteran households with a mortgage on their dwelling ($1,530) paid less per month in median shelter costs than all households in owner-occupied dwellings with a mortgage ($1,770). Median shelter costs for Veteran households in owner-occupied dwellings without a mortgage ($510) were comparable to all households ($540).
Similarly, the median shelter cost paid by renter households usually depends on the presence of a rent subsidy.Note 4 Veteran households in rented dwellings with a subsidy ($510) had similar median monthly shelter costs as all households in rented dwellings with a subsidy ($530). Median shelter costs for Veteran households in rented dwellings without a subsidy ($960) were also comparable to all households in rented dwellings without a subsidy ($1,010).Note 5
| Veteran households | All households | |
|---|---|---|
| median (dollars) | ||
| Total, tenure status | 800Note * | 1,050 |
| Owner | 760Note * Table 2 Note ‡ | 1,140 |
| With a mortgage | 1,530Note * Table 2 Note † Table 2 Note ‡ | 1,770 |
| Without a mortgage | 510Table 2 Note † Table 2 Note ‡ | 540 |
| Renter | 890Table 2 Note ‡ | 960 |
| Subsidized housing | 510Table 2 Note † Table 2 Note ‡ | 530 |
| Not subsidized housing | 960Table 2 Note ‡ | 1,010 |
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Housing affordability
Housing affordability is derived using the shelter-cost-to-income ratio, which refers to the proportion of average total income households spend on shelter costs. A household is said to have affordable housing if it spends less than 30% of its total income on shelter costs.Note 6
According to the 2018 CHS, 83,600 Veterans (15%) lived in households that spent more than 30% of their total household income on shelter. This was lower than the 18% of the total population who lived in private households which spent more than 30% of their total household income on shelter.
Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings (11%) were less likely to be in unaffordable housing than the total population in owner-occupied dwellings (15%). About one-quarter (24%) of Veterans in rented dwellings were in unaffordable housing.
Focusing on Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings, those in households with and without a mortgage experienced unaffordable housing at a similar rate as the total population. Veterans in rented dwellings with and without a subsidy also had comparable rates of unaffordable housing with the total population.
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, shelter-cost-to-income ratioTable 3 Note 1 | 570,800 | 100 | 35,669,100 | 100 |
| Spending more than 30% of income on shelter costs | 83,600 | 15Note * | 6,400,200 | 18 |
| Owner | 46,400 | 11Note * Table 3 Note ‡ | 3,895,800 | 15 |
| With a mortgage | 37,600 | 19Table 3 Note † Table 3 Note ‡ | 3,568,600 | 21 |
| Without a mortgage | 8,700 | 4Table 3 Note † Table 3 Note ‡ | 327,200 | 4 |
| Renter | 37,200 | 24Table 3 Note † Table 3 Note ‡ | 2,504,400 | 26 |
| Subsidized housing | 6,000 | 28 | 269,500 | 23 |
| Not subsidized housing | 31,200 | 24 | 2,232,300 | 26 |
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Housing suitability
Housing suitability refers to whether a private household is living in suitable accommodations according to the National Occupancy Standard (NOS), that is, whether the dwelling has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of the household. The indicator assesses the required number of bedrooms for a household based on the age and sex of household members, and the relationships between them.
According to the 2018 CHS, 14,000 Veterans (2%) were in unsuitable housing, meaning that there were not enough bedrooms in the dwelling to meet the needs of their household, according to the NOS. This is lower than the 9% of the total population living in unsuitable housing.
Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings (1%) were less likely to be in unsuitable housing than the total population in owner-occupied dwellings (6%). This difference was also reflected in rented dwellings, where the share of Veterans living in rented dwellings (6%) that were unsuitable was lower than the share for the total population (19%).
When owner-occupied dwellings are differentiated by the presence of a mortgage, Veterans living in dwellings with a mortgage (2%) experienced unsuitable housing at a lower rate than the total population in dwellings with a mortgage (7%).Note 7 This difference was also present for Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings without a mortgage, where the rate of unsuitable housing was 0%, compared with 3% for the total population.
For Veterans in rented dwellings, those in households without a subsidy (5%) experienced unsuitable housing at a lower rate than the total population in rented dwellings without a subsidy (18%).
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, housing suitability | 578,500 | 100 | 36,444,100 | 100 |
| Not suitable | 14,000 | 2Note * | 3,408,400 | 9 |
| Owner | 4,900 | 1Note * Table 4 Note ‡ | 1,599,500 | 6 |
| With a mortgage | 4,500 | 2Note * Table 4 Note ‡ | 1,307,600 | 7 |
| Without a mortgage | 400 | 0s Note * Table 4 Note † Table 4 Note ‡ | 291,900 | 3 |
| Renter | 9,100 | 6Note * Table 4 Note ‡ | 1,808,900 | 19 |
| Subsidized housing | 2,900 | 14 | 227,000 | 20 |
| Not subsidized housing | 6,200 | 5Note * | 1,578,200 | 18 |
Source: 2018 Canadian Housing Survey |
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Condition of dwelling
Data on condition of dwelling are used to provide some insight into whether housing is habitable. Dwellings are classified into three groups by condition: needing regular maintenance only, needing minor repairs and needing major repairs. Dwellings in need of major repairs are considered to be inadequate housing. Examples of dwellings in need of major repairs include homes with defective plumbing or electrical wiring, and housing needing structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings.
In 2018, according to the CHS, 8% of all Veterans lived in private dwellings that were in need of major repairs. This is comparable to the 7% of the total population that reported living in dwellings in need of major repairs.
Differences in the proportion of individuals living in dwellings in need of major repairs between Veterans and the total population by tenure status were not statistically significant.
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, dwelling condition | 578,500 | 100 | 36,444,100 | 100 |
| Dwelling in need of major repairs | 48,700 | 8 | 2,556,400 | 7 |
| Owner | 32,400 | 8 | 1,657,400 | 6 |
| With a mortgage | 19,800 | 10 | 1,162,500 | 7 |
| Without a mortgage | 12,600 | 6 | 494,900 | 5 |
| Renter | 16,200 | 11 | 899,000 | 9 |
| Subsidized housing | 2,500 | 11 | 134,000 | 12 |
| Not subsidized housing | 13,700 | 10 | 761,800 | 9 |
| Source: 2018 Canadian Housing Survey | ||||
Core housing need
Core housing need touches on several elements of the right to adequate housing. It considers whether the affordability, suitability, and condition of dwelling needs of the household are being met and if not, whether affordable rental housing is available that meets all these needs. A household is said to be in core housing need if their dwelling falls below at least one of the affordability, suitability, or condition of dwelling standards, and would have to spend 30% or more of their total before-tax income to pay the median rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable (meets all three housing standards).
According to the 2018 CHS, 8% of Veterans were living in households in core housing need. This is comparable to the 9% of the total population in core housing need.
Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings (4%) were in core housing need at a similar rate as the total population in owner-occupied dwellings (5%). The same was true for individuals in rented dwellings, where the rate of core housing need for Veterans (17%) was comparable to the total population (19%).
Differences in rates of core housing need between Veterans and the total population by presence of a mortgage for those in owner-occupied households were not statistically significant.
The incidence of core housing need varied for Veterans in rented dwellings depending on whether there was a rent subsidy. Among Veterans in rented dwellings with a subsidy, 29% were in core housing need, while the rate was 15% for their counterparts without a subsidy.Note 8
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, core housing needTable 6 Note 1 | 565,200 | 100 | 35,128,000 | 100 |
| In core housing need | 43,400 | 8 | 3,151,900 | 9 |
| Owner | 17,200 | 4Table 6 Note † Table 6 Note ‡ | 1,358,700 | 5 |
| With a mortgage | 11,100 | 5 | 982,800 | 6 |
| Without a mortgage | 6,200 | 3 | 375,900 | 4 |
| Renter | 26,200 | 17Table 6 Note † Table 6 Note ‡ | 1,793,200 | 19 |
| Subsidized housing | 6,200 | 29Table 6 Note † Table 6 Note ‡ | 342,000 | 30 |
| Not subsidized housing | 20,000 | 15Table 6 Note ‡ | 1,447,300 | 18 |
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Housing experiences of Veteran men and women
In 1995, the Government of Canada committed to using GBA+ to advance gender equality in Canada, as part of the ratification of the United Nations’ Beijing Platform for Action.
Gender equality is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is part of the Constitution of Canada. Gender equality means that diverse groups of women, men and gender diverse people are able to participate fully in all spheres of Canadian life, contributing to an inclusive and democratic society.
GBA+ is an analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The “plus” in GBA+ is not just about differences between people on the basis of gender. We all have multiple characteristics that intersect and contribute to who we are. GBA+ considers many other identity factors such as race, ethnicity, immigrant status, religion, age, presence of a mental or physical disability, and how the interaction between these factors influences the way we experience government policies and initiatives.
The data presented here highlight differences in housing experiences for Veteran men and women. Compared to Veteran men, Veteran women were just as likely to live in owner-occupied dwellings, unaffordable housing, unsuitable housing, dwellings requiring major repairs, and be in core housing need.
| Veteran men | Veteran women | |
|---|---|---|
| percent | ||
| In an owner-occupied dwelling | 72 | 78 |
| In household spending 30% or more of income on shelter costs | 14 | 18 |
| In unsuitable housing | 2 | 2 |
| In dwelling requiring major repairs | 8 | 11 |
| In core housing need | 7 | 9 |
| Source: 2018 Canadian Housing Survey | ||
More information on GBA+ can be found at the Government of Canada’s Status of Women web page.
More information on the housing experiences of other subpopulations broken down by age and gender groups, immigrant status, population groups designated as visible minorities, Indigenous populations and other groups can be found in the additional fact sheets on the Housing Experiences in Canada issue page. Additional data products that focus more on an intersectional GBA+ analysis of housing experiences will also be released through the Housing Experiences in Canada issue page as they become available.
Dwelling satisfaction
According to the 2018 CHS, approximately 85% of Veterans were in homes where the reference person said that they were satisfied with their dwelling. This is comparable to the proportion of the total population satisfied with their dwelling (82%).
By tenure, 88% of Veterans lived in owner-occupied dwellings where the reference person was satisfied with the dwelling. This is higher than the 76% of Veterans in rented dwellings where the reference person was satisfied. A similar difference in dwelling satisfaction was observed for the total population living in owner-occupied (87%) and rented dwellings (69%).
Focusing on Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings, those with a mortgage (85%) had a similar dwelling satisfaction rate as the total population with a mortgage (86%).Note 9 Veterans without a mortgage (92%) also had a similar dwelling satisfaction rate as the total population without a mortgage (89%).Note 10
For Veterans in rented dwellings without a subsidy (77%), the dwelling satisfaction rate was higher than the total population in rented dwellings without a subsidy (69%).Note 11
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, overall dwelling satisfaction | 578,500 | 100 | 36,444,100 | 100 |
| Satisfied (or very satisfied) with dwelling overall | 491,300 | 85 | 29,977,600 | 82 |
| Owner | 374,900 | 88Table 8 Note ‡ | 23,295,900 | 87 |
| With a mortgage | 176,500 | 85Table 8 Note ‡ | 15,267,800 | 86 |
| Without a mortgage | 198,400 | 92Table 8 Note ‡ | 8,028,100 | 89 |
| Renter | 116,400 | 76Table 8 Note † Table 8 Note ‡ | 6,681,700 | 69 |
| Subsidized housing | 14,400 | 67 | 775,800 | 67 |
| Not subsidized housing | 101,700 | 77Note * | 5,892,600 | 69 |
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Neighbourhood satisfaction
At the time of the 2018 CHS, 88% of Veterans lived in households where the reference person indicated that they were satisfied with their neighbourhood. This is comparable to the proportion of the total population satisfied with their neighbourhood (86%).
By tenure, 90% of Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings lived in households where the reference person was satisfied with their neighbourhood. This is comparable to the 88% of the total population in owner-occupied dwellings where the reference person was satisfied. For Veterans in rented dwellings (82%), the rate of neighbourhood satisfaction was also comparable to the total population in rented dwellings (80%).
Differences in rates of neighbourhood satisfaction for Veterans by presence of a mortgage for those in owner-occupied households, or by presence of a housing subsidy for those in rented dwellings, were not statistically significant.
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, overall neighbourhood satisfaction | 578,500 | 100 | 36,444,100 | 100 |
| Satisfied (or very satisfied) with neighbourhood overall | 507,500 | 88 | 31,255,800 | 86 |
| Owner | 381,000 | 90Table 9 Note ‡ | 23,504,200 | 88 |
| With a mortgage | 186,700 | 90 | 15,494,800 | 88 |
| Without a mortgage | 194,300 | 90 | 8,009,400 | 89 |
| Renter | 126,500 | 82Table 9 Note ‡ | 7,751,600 | 80 |
| Subsidized housing | 16,600 | 77 | 840,500 | 72 |
| Not subsidized housing | 109,700 | 83 | 6,897,100 | 80 |
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Household living arrangements
Household living arrangements refer to whether a person lives with another person or people, and, if so, whether they are related to that person or those people. Households can be further differentiated based on whether they are census family households or non-census-family households. Census family households contain at least one census family.Note 12 Non-census-family households are either one person living alone or a group of two or more people who live together but do not constitute a census family (for example, roommates).
According to the 2018 CHS, about 72% of Veterans lived as part of a one-census-family household. This was below the rate for the total population (79%). Veterans in one-census-family households were more likely to live in a couple family without children (44%) than with children (23%). The opposite was true for the total population, where 46% of individuals lived in a couple family with children and 24% lived in a couple family without children.
Living in a non-census-family household was more common for Veterans (26%) than the total population (16%). This is because a large proportion of Veterans lived alone (20%). By comparison, 12% of the total population in private households in Canada lived alone.
| Veterans | Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| count | percent | count | percent | |
| Total, household type | 578,500 | 100 | 36,444,100 | 100 |
| One-census-family householdTable 10 Note 1 | 414,700 | 72Note * | 28,959,300 | 79 |
| Couple family without children | 254,300 | 44Note * | 8,583,600 | 24 |
| Couple family with children | 130,600 | 23Note * | 16,782,900 | 46 |
| One parent family | 29,800 | 5Note * | 3,592,800 | 10 |
| Multiple-census-family householdTable 10 Note 1 | 10,600 | 2Note * | 1,799,100 | 5 |
| Non-census-family household | 153,200 | 26Note * | 5,685,800 | 16 |
| One-person household | 118,600 | 20Note * | 4,243,300 | 12 |
| Two- or more person household | 34,600 | 6 | 1,442,400 | 4 |
Source: 2018 Canadian Housing Survey |
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Interpreting the results
The Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) is a representative sample survey drawn from a frame of private dwellings across Canada. Since the survey sample is drawn from private households, individuals living in the following forms of housing are not included in the data:
- people living on reserves and in other Indigenous settlements
- official representatives of foreign countries living in Canada, and their families
- members of religious and other communal colonies
- members of the Canadian Armed Forces living on military bases
- people living in seniors’ residences
- people living full time in institutions (e.g., inmates of penal institutions, and chronic care patients living in hospitals and nursing homes)
- people living in other types of collective dwellings (e.g., shelters, campgrounds and hotels).
The survey results are an outcome of the sampling procedure that estimates a true value with an acceptable level of uncertainty. Therefore, it is not recommended to compare any two numbers published above unless the comparison is made in the text. This fact sheet features three types of comparisons:
- comparisons of estimates between the focus population group and the total population (for example, the percentage of Veterans in rented dwellings in core housing need, compared with the percentage of the total population in rented dwellings in core housing need)
- comparisons of estimates between a category and the category total within the focus population group (for example, the percentage of Veterans in rented dwellings in core housing need, compared with the percentage of all Veterans in core housing need)
- comparisons of estimates between categories within the focus population group (for example, the percentage of Veterans in rented dwellings in core housing need, compared with the percentage of Veterans in owner-occupied dwellings in core housing need).
Each of these three comparisons provides a different insight to understand the housing experiences of the focus population group. A statistical test is conducted to see whether the two estimates are different from one another at the 95% confidence level—often stated as 19 times in 20. The test results are presented for percentage statistics in the tables on relative prevalence or median shelter costs only; test results are omitted for statistics on the associated number of people.
When other comparisons are made between sample results presented in the fact sheets or data tables, it is important to remember that it cannot be concluded with a degree of certainty that the observed difference is not attributable to variation from the sampling procedure.
About the data
The estimates presented in this fact sheet are from the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey (CHS). For detailed information on the CHS or any of the indicators in this fact sheet, please refer to the following:
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