Insights on Canadian Society
Softening the blow of discrimination: The role of social connections in mitigating the harms associated with racism and discrimination
Text begins
Overview of the study
Using the 2023-2024 Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC), this study provides a profile of the self-reported experiences of discrimination against racialized people in Canada, looking at the prevalence and nature of discrimination based on race or ethnicity, and the risk factors associated with it. It then examines the relationship of discrimination with wellbeing and perceptions of Canadian society, and how these possible effects are mitigated by victims’ connections with family and friends.
- In 2024, 45% of racialized Canadians aged 15 years and older reported that they faced racism and discrimination in the past five years. Eight in ten (81%) victims reported experiencing discrimination more than once in the last five years.
- Racialized Canadians under the age of 45 were most likely to experience discrimination. There were no differences in the prevalence of discrimination between men and women, though rates were higher among those who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or non-binary.
- The rate of fair or poor mental health was almost double among racialized Canadians who faced discrimination (24%), compared to other racialized Canadians (13%). This greater likelihood of poor mental health was most pronounced among racialized Canadians who experienced multiple incidents of discrimination, with 34% of repeat victims reporting fair or poor mental health.
- Strong personal relationships were related to much lower levels of fair or poor mental wellbeing among those who experienced discrimination – 13% of people who experienced discrimination but were highly satisfied with their family relationships reported poor mental health. This compares to 42% of victims who lacked these same supports.
- Compared to victims with weak ties to family and friends, racialized Canadians who experienced discrimination and had a network of strong family and friends had higher levels of life satisfaction, as well as a reduced tendency to have a lack of hope in the unity among Canadians, how democracy works, and economic opportunities.
Introduction
Experiences of racism and discrimination do not exist in a vacuum. People who experience unfair treatment, exclusion, and racially based attacks come from diverse backgrounds, with varied lived experiences and sources of support. These differing realities translate into possible divergent impacts of discrimination on subjective well-being, both in the short and long-term. To be sure, discrimination is related to negative mental health outcomes, with about a quarter (24%) of all victims of racial discriminationNote reporting fair or poor mental health in 2024, higher than the 13% of their peers who did not experience discrimination. However, what is less known is the role of family and friends in possibly mitigating these possible negative impacts of discrimination.
Previous studies have shown that across various areas of life and throughout the life course, positive attachment and support are linked to enhanced subjective well-being, specifically better emotional and mental wellbeing, as well as physical health.Note Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that strong social connections offer protection against the emotional and mental toll of negative life events.Note
This study will investigate the importance of relationships in possibly reducing negative mental health impacts of discrimination among racialized people in Canada. In broad terms, social connections can be understood as the perceived number and quality of relationships, both at the personal level, namely family and friends, but also at the wider community level in terms of connections formed in groups, organizations, sports and work settings.Note For the purpose of this study, the focus will be on the role of personal relationships in mitigating the association between discrimination and wellbeing.
To situate discrimination and its effects, the study uses the 2023-2024 Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC) to look at the prevalence and nature of racial discrimination for different socio-demographic groups, along with the correlations with indicators of wellbeing, such as self-rated health, mental health, life satisfaction, as well as broader perceptions on Canadian society. It will then look at the importance of social connections and relationships in possibly softening the blow of racial discrimination on wellbeing, examining the intersection of experiences of discrimination, social relationships and subjective measures of wellbeing.
Almost half of racialized Canadians faced racism and discrimination in past five years
In 2024, 45% of racialized Canadians aged 15 years and older reported that they faced at least one incident of discrimination because of their race or ethnicity in the previous five years.Note Across Canada, the prevalence of self-reported racism and discrimination ranged from a low of 43% in Ontario to a high of 55% in the Atlantic provinces and 49% in the prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta (Chart 1).
Data table for Chart 1
| Region | Experienced discrimination in previous five years | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | ||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| percent | |||
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
|||
| Atlantic region | 54.5 Data table for Chart 1 Note * | 46.3 | 62.7 |
| Quebec | 45.0 | 41.5 | 48.6 |
| Ontario (ref.) | 43.2 | 40.6 | 45.8 |
| Prairie region | 48.8 Data table for Chart 1 Note * | 45.0 | 52.6 |
| British Columbia | 43.2 | 38.9 | 47.4 |
Eight in ten victims of discrimination experienced it more than once
For most victims of racism and discrimination, encountering discrimination and racism was not an isolated event. Eight in ten (81%) racialized victims reported experiencing this behaviour more than once in the last five years, with 68% saying it occurred occasionally and another 13% saying it often occurred or occurred on a daily or almost daily basis.
Not only does discrimination occur on a recurring basis, but discrimination and racism also permeate across several facets of Canadian life. Public places were the most common location of discriminatory and racist acts. In 2024, 40% of victims were confronted with racist or discriminatory incidents while walking down the street, going to the park, or engaging in other activities in public places (Chart 2). In addition, 39% of victims faced these acts in other public settings, such as stores, banks and restaurants.
Beyond the public sphere, racialized Canadians also faced discrimination while working and studying. Workplace discrimination can impact day-to-day working conditions, pay, and access to supervisory and managerial roles.Note Among discrimination victims whose main activity in the last 12 months was work, 44% reported workplace discrimination.Note Similarly, school was the location of racism and discrimination for 46% of racialized Canadians whose main activity was going to school.Note
Data table for Chart 2
| Setting of discrimination | Proportion | 95% confidence interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| percent | |||
| Note: Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the estimates.
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
|||
| Public area | 39.9 | 37.5 | 42.2 |
| Store, bank or restaurant | 38.7 | 36.2 | 41.1 |
| Work | 37.4 | 35.0 | 39.8 |
| Internet | 29.6 | 27.2 | 31.9 |
| Public transit | 28.3 | 26.0 | 30.7 |
| School | 21.1 | 18.7 | 23.4 |
| Social gathering | 18.0 | 16.1 | 19.9 |
| Healthcare | 13.9 | 12.2 | 15.5 |
| Other | 13.8 | 12.1 | 15.4 |
| Police | 11.0 | 9.4 | 12.6 |
| Border | 9.7 | 8.2 | 11.3 |
| Housing | 9.2 | 7.8 | 10.5 |
| Courts | 3.0 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
Unfair treatment is the most commonly reported type of discrimination
Racism and discrimination can take many forms, many of which, depending on the setting, would be considered violations of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The underlying principle of the Act is that all Canadians have the right to equal opportunity, regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, and other characteristics.
Based on the results from the 2023-2024 SSPC, racialized Canadians most often faced unfair treatment, with 29% of racialized Canadians saying that, on at least one occasion in the past 5 years, they had been treated with less courtesy and respect than others, treated suspiciously, treated poorly when receiving service, and people behaving as if they are afraid of them (Chart 3).
The next most common form of discrimination involved exclusion because of race or ethnicity. Experienced by 26% of racialized Canadians, these incidents meant that racialized Canadians were intentionally left out or that people actively avoided them because of their race.
Another form of racism and discrimination is verbal attacks. This includes being called offensive slang racist names or racial slurs, being sworn at, or being told racist jokes. Nearly one-quarter (22%) of racialized Canadians were subjected to verbal attacks, with public settings being the most common location for this type of abuse.
Lastly, incidents of racism and discrimination sometimes reach the criminal threshold and could be considered crimes under the Criminal Code of Canada. In 2024, 6% of racialized Canadians reported either being threatened with physical violence or were physically attacked because of their race or ethnicity in the last five years.
Data table for Chart 3
| Type of discrimination | Experienced discrimination in previous five years | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | ||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| percent | |||
| Note: Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the estimates.
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
|||
| Discrimination/unfair treatment | 29.2 | 27.8 | 30.7 |
| Exclusion | 26.0 | 24.4 | 27.5 |
| Verbal abuse | 22.2 | 20.7 | 23.6 |
| Physical attack or threat of physical attack | 5.9 | 5.1 | 6.7 |
Vulnerability to racism and discrimination varies by age
The risk of discrimination varied across racialized Canadians, with those aged 15 to 45 being more likely than older Canadians to experience any form of racism and discrimination. Up to age 45, self-reported discrimination rates hovered around the 50% mark, and then subsequently declined, reaching a low of 23% for racialized Canadians aged 65 years and older (Table 1). This age-related pattern, which was observed after controlling for other socio-demographic characteristics, was seen for both men and women, who experienced similar levels of discrimination across all age groups.
Besides age, there were differences in the prevalence of self-reported discrimination across racialized population groups. Koreans, Black Canadians, and those with multiple racial backgrounds were most likely to face racism and discrimination, with rates ranging from 54% to 59% (Chart 4). The population groups with slightly lower rates of self-reported discrimination included Arab and Chinese Canadians.Note
Racialized immigrants were less likely than their racialized non-immigrant counterparts to report experiencing discrimination (42% versus 53%). That said, after adjusting for differences in socio-demographic characteristics, there were no differences in the probability of experiencing discrimination between immigrant and non-immigrant racialized Canadians.Note
Data table for Chart 4
| Racialized group | Experienced discrimination in previous five years | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | ||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| percent | |||
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
|||
| Korean (ref.) | 58.9 E use with caution Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 50.5 | 67.3 |
| Multiple racialized groups | 55.4 E use with caution Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 46.7 | 64.1 |
| Black | 54.3 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 50.4 | 58.1 |
| South Asian | 45.5 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 41.3 | 49.6 |
| Southeast Asian | 44.4 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 39.5 | 49.2 |
| Filipino | 42.4 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 38.4 | 46.4 |
| Latin American | 40.9 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 36.5 | 45.4 |
| Chinese | 40.5 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 36.5 | 44.5 |
| West Asian | 39.0 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 32.5 | 45.5 |
| Arab | 38.8 | 34.1 | 43.4 |
| Other racialized group | 35.7 | 24.1 | 47.4 |
| Japanese | 33.7 | 22.1 | 45.4 |
Being single and 2SLGBTQ+ increase the risk of racism and discrimination
Another socio-demographic factor related to discrimination was marital status. Racialized Canadians who were single and had never married were the most likely to report discrimination, with 52% experiencing discrimination in the previous five years. This compares to 41% of married racialized Canadians and 41% who were separated or divorced. While single people tend to be younger on average (a characteristic associated with discrimination), single people remained at higher risk, even after adjusting for age differences (Table 1).
Race can also intersect with other characteristics, such as 2SLGBTQ+ identity and disability status. Overlapping marginalized characteristics can place Canadians at greater risk of discriminatory incidents. Indeed, racialized Canadians who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or non-binary were more often subjected to racism and discrimination. Their rate of discrimination stood at 53%, significantly higher than the 44% recorded for other racialized Canadians. For racialized Canadians with disabilities, the rate at which they experienced racism and discrimination, however, was similar to those without disabilities.
Higher levels of education related to increased prevalence of racism and discrimination
Socio-economic status (SES) can sometimes intersect with race and ethnicity, as discrimination can influence both educational attainment and economic wellbeing.Note In other words, as a result of systemic and direct discrimination, racialized groups can face additional barriers to obtaining higher levels of education and employment income.Note Previous research has shown that labour market outcomes among racialized Canadians were less favourable, despite racialized Canadians being more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree.Note While the SSPC does not measure the SES outcome of discrimination, it can highlight differences in experiences by income and education.
Results suggest that racialized Canadians of all income levels experienced discrimination, with no significant difference across income groups, meaning low, middle- and high-income racialized Canadians had similar experiences of being confronted with racism and discrimination. Differences, however, emerged by education levels. Racialized Canadians with at least some postsecondary education were significantly more likely than those with a high school diploma or less to report having experienced racism and discrimination. This was true even when other socio-demographic characteristics were considered (Table 1).
| Socio-demographic characteristics | Experienced discrimination in previous five years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | Predicted probabilities | ||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | |||
| percent | ||||
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
||||
| Gender | ||||
| Men+ | 44.7 | 42.2 | 47.2 | 44.7 |
| Women+ (ref.) | 44.8 | 42.4 | 47.1 | 44.9 |
| Age group | ||||
| 15 to 24 years (ref.) | 49.5 | 45.3 | 53.6 | 46.7 |
| 25 to 34 years | 50.7 | 47.0 | 54.6 | 47.8 |
| 35 to 44 years | 48.6 | 45.2 | 51.9 | 49.6 |
| 45 to 54 years | 45.9 Table 1 Note * | 41.9 | 49.8 | 47.8 |
| 55 to 64 years | 35.8 Table 1 Note * | 31.6 | 40.1 | 38.8 Table 1 Note * |
| 65 years and over | 23.2 Table 1 Note * | 19.1 | 27.2 | 27.1 Table 1 Note * |
| Immigrant status | ||||
| Non-immigrant (ref.) | 52.6 | 49.1 | 56.2 | 51.3 |
| Immigrant | 42.2 Table 1 Note * | 40.4 | 44.1 | 42.9 |
| 2SLGBTQ+ | ||||
| Non-2SLGBTQ+ (ref.) | 44.0 | 42.2 | 45.7 | 44.2 |
| 2SLGBTQ+ | 53.4 Table 1 Note * | 47.0 | 59.8 | 51.9 Table 1 Note * |
| Disability | ||||
| No, does not have a disability (ref.) | 45.0 | 43.2 | 46.8 | 44.4 |
| Yes, has a disability | 41.7 | 36.0 | 47.3 | 44.8 |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married or living common law (ref.) | 41.4 | 39.2 | 43.5 | 41.6 |
| Separated or divorced | 40.5 | 34.9 | 46.1 | 43.4 |
| Single, never married | 51.5 Table 1 Note * | 48.5 | 54.6 | 50.2 Table 1 Note * |
| Widowed | 26.3 Table 1 Note * | 18.0 | 34.6 | 41.8 |
| Education | ||||
| High school or less (ref.) | 39.6 | 36.5 | 42.8 | 38.9 |
| Trades, college, or university certificate | 45.5 | 42.2 | 48.8 | 46.6 Table 1 Note * |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 48.8 Table 1 Note * | 46.3 | 51.3 | 48.2 Table 1 Note * |
| Personal income | ||||
| Under $20,000 (ref.) | 46.2 | 43.1 | 49.4 | 45.1 |
| $20,000 to $59,999 | 42.1 | 39.7 | 44.6 | 43.2 |
| $60,000 to $99,999 | 48.3 | 44.5 | 52.1 | 47.7 |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | 47.7 | 41.0 | 54.4 | 46.8 |
| $150,000 and above | 48.6 | 38.4 | 58.7 | 49.7 |
Fair and poor mental health were more common among racialized Canadians who faced discrimination
Experiencing discrimination can have a myriad of consequences on racialized Canadians’ short and long-term wellbeing, including their physical and mental health, along with their feelings of happiness. In addition, facing discrimination can influence victims’ perceptions of how Canadian society functions – that is, whether race and ethnicity impact life success and whether there is hope in democracy and unity in Canada. These possible relationships between discrimination, wellbeing and perceptions can have implications beyond the individual victim, as it may influence overall social cohesion.Note
Data from the SSPC indicate that racialized Canadians’ self-rated health was lower among those who reported experiencing discrimination in the previous five years. Specifically, excellent overall health was reported by 15% of victims of discrimination, significantly lower than the 20% of racialized Canadians who did not report experiencing discrimination.
An even greater gap was seen for psychological and emotional wellbeing. When asked to rate their mental health, 14% of discrimination victims reported that it was excellent, compared to 25% of non-victims (Table 2). Fair or poor mental health was much more common for victims of discrimination. The rate of poor mental health was almost double among victims than non-victims (24% versus 13%). The relationship between poor mental health and experiences of discrimination persisted even when accounting for socio-demographic differences, such as age, education, and income.Note
The higher prevalence of fair or poor mental health among racialized Canadians who experienced discrimination was seen across all forms of discrimination, with no significant difference by type of discrimination. In other words, victims of unfair treatment, exclusion, physical threats or attacks, or verbal attacks were equally as likely to have fair or poor mental health.
On the other hand, the frequency of discrimination was associated with differences in mental health outcomes. In particular, 27% of racialized Canadians who experienced discrimination on multiple occasions in the previous five years had fair or poor mental health, compared to 14%E of racialized Canadians who experienced a single incident of discrimination in the previous five years.
Experiencing discrimination is correlated with lower levels of life satisfaction
Like mental health, racialized Canadians were less likely to give a positive rating of their overall life satisfaction when they had experienced discrimination. In 2024, 33% of discrimination victims reported a high level of life satisfaction (scoring 8 or higher on a 10-point scale), compared to half (50%) of racialized Canadians who reported no incidents of discrimination.Note Life satisfaction, which is often considered a barometer of happiness and an overall indicator of wellbeing, is consistently lower among discrimination victims, even once considering socio-demographic differences, such as age, education and income.Note
| Perceived health | Experienced discrimination | Did not experience discrimination (ref.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | Proportion | 95% confidence interval | |||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | Lower limit | Upper limit | |||
| percent | ||||||
|
||||||
| Self-reported overall health | ||||||
| Excellent | 14.6 Table 2 Note * | 12.9 | 16.3 | 20.4 | 18.6 | 22.2 |
| Very good | 32.3 | 30.1 | 34.6 | 32.9 | 30.7 | 35.1 |
| Good | 37.6 | 35.3 | 39.9 | 34.2 | 32.1 | 36.4 |
| Fair or poor | 15.5 | 13.6 | 17.5 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 14.1 |
| Self-reported mental health | ||||||
| Excellent | 14.1 Table 2 Note * | 12.4 | 15.8 | 25.4 | 23.5 | 27.3 |
| Very good | 27.5 | 25.2 | 29.7 | 30.0 | 27.9 | 32.1 |
| Good | 34.1 | 31.8 | 36.5 | 31.4 | 29.2 | 33.7 |
| Fair or poor | 24.3 Table 2 Note * | 22.2 | 26.4 | 13.2 | 11.5 | 14.9 |
Discrimination related to feelings that race and ethnicity makes it harder to succeed
In addition to wellbeing, having experienced racism and discrimination is closely related to perceptions of racial inequalities in other parts of life. Notably, racialized Canadians who experienced discrimination were almost twice as likely as other racialized Canadians to say that their race and ethnicity made it harder for them to succeed in life (50% versus 27%)Note (Table 3).
This pattern appeared to spill over to perceptions of other Canadians and Canadian society as a whole. Racialized Canadians who had reported facing discrimination were less likely than their non-discriminated peers to have warm feelings towards Canadians. In 2024, 38% of discrimination victims said they had warm feelings towards Canadians, compared to 46% of racialized Canadians who did not experience discrimination. In addition, those who had experienced discrimination were twice as likely as those who did not experience discrimination to say that they had no hope in the unity among Canadians (18% versus 8%) or how democracy works in Canada (18% versus 8%). They were also nearly twice as likely as non-victims to feel that there was no hope in future economic opportunities in Canada (31% versus 18%). The increased tendency for discrimination victims to lack hope in unity, democracy and economic opportunities was seen, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics.Note
| Perceptions of Canada | Experienced discrimination | Did not experience discrimination (ref.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | Proportion | 95% confidence interval | |||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | Lower limit | Upper limit | |||
| percent | ||||||
|
||||||
| Influence of race and ethnicity on success in life | ||||||
| Easier | 11.9 Table 3 Note * | 10.4 | 13.4 | 15.6 | 14.0 | 17.2 |
| Neutral | 37.8 Table 3 Note * | 35.3 | 40.2 | 57.7 | 55.5 | 59.9 |
| Harder | 50.4 Table 3 Note * | 47.8 | 52.9 | 26.7 | 24.7 | 28.6 |
| Feelings towards Canadians | ||||||
| Warm | 37.7 Table 3 Note * | 35.3 | 40.2 | 45.9 | 43.7 | 48.2 |
| Somewhat warm | 29.1 Table 3 Note * | 26.9 | 31.4 | 23.2 | 21.2 | 25.1 |
| Neutral | 23.0 | 21.0 | 25.1 | 25.9 | 23.8 | 27.9 |
| Cold | 10.1 Table 3 Note * | 8.6 | 11.6 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| Hope in unity among Canadians | ||||||
| Yes | 81.8 Table 3 Note * | 79.8 | 83.7 | 92.4 | 91.1 | 93.7 |
| No | 18.2 Table 3 Note * | 16.3 | 20.2 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 8.9 |
| Hope in democracy in Canada | ||||||
| Yes | 81.8 Table 3 Note * | 79.8 | 83.9 | 92.0 | 90.6 | 93.4 |
| No | 18.2 Table 3 Note * | 16.1 | 20.2 | 8.0 | 6.6 | 9.4 |
| Hope in economic opportunities in Canada | ||||||
| Yes | 68.8 Table 3 Note * | 66.5 | 71.5 | 82.1 | 80.2 | 84.0 |
| No | 31.2 Table 3 Note * | 28.8 | 33.5 | 17.9 | 16.0 | 19.8 |
A network of social supports positively associated with the mental health of discrimination victims
In general, social supports, whether in the form of emotional, informational or practical support,Note can improve possible negative wellbeing outcomes following adverse life events. To examine the possible association between discrimination, wellbeing and social connections, all panels of the SSPC were merged for analysis (See Data sources, methods and definitions).
Results from all panels of the SSPC confirm that having a network of supportive individuals was related to better mental health. Among racialized Canadians who experienced discrimination, the prevalence of poor mental health was three times lower when victims were highly satisfied with their family (13%) or friend relationships (14%),Note compared to when victims lacked this same level of family supports (42%) or friend supports (36%) (Table 4).
After adjusting for individual characteristics, such as age, level of education and gender, discrimination victims with strong family ties remained less likely to report poor or fair mental health (predicted probability of 14.7% compared with 37.9% for those without strong family ties). The same held true for strong friendships, where the probability of having poor mental health was lower for victims who were highly satisfied with their friend relationships (14.6% versus 34.8% without strong friend ties).
| Connections with others | Self-reported fair or poor mental health | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | Predicted probabilities | ||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | |||
| percent | ||||
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
||||
| Satisfaction with family relationships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 13.1 | 9.6 | 16.5 | 14.7 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 41.8 | 32.9 | 50.5 | 37.9 Table 4 Note * |
| Satisfaction with friendships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 13.6 | 9.5 | 17.7 | 14.6 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 36.0 Table 4 Note * | 28.8 | 43.3 | 34.8 Table 4 Note * |
| Having someone to depend on | ||||
| Always or often (ref.) | 18.6 | 13.3 | 23.9 | 18.1 |
| Sometimes, rarely or never | 32.6 Table 4 Note * | 25.2 | 40.1 | 33.4 Table 4 Note * |
| Frequency of feeling lonely | ||||
| Feeling always or often lonely (ref.) | 46.7 | 35.1 | 58.3 | 43.5 |
| Feeling sometimes, rarely or never lonely | 16.7 Table 4 Note * | 13.0 | 20.4 | 17.4 Table 4 Note * |
The positive association of family and friends on the mental health of discrimination victims was seen among those who suffered repeated episodes of racism and discrimination. For instance, fair or poor mental health was reported among 15% of repeat victims with family supports, lower than the 47% of repeat victims without the same level of family supports. That being said, among victims with family supports, poor mental health was still more common for repeat victims (15%) than victims of a single discrimination incident (8%).
Other indicators of social supports confirmed the relationship between discrimination and wellbeing. Feeling lonely magnified the prevalence of fair or poor mental health among victims of discrimination. Among discrimination victims, 47% of people who often felt lonely reported poor mental health, compared to 17% of victims who rarely felt lonely (Table 4). Similarly, fair or poor mental health was more common among discrimination victims who did not have someone to depend on (33% versus 19% who had someone to count on).
Link between discrimination and lower life satisfaction mitigated by strong social supports
Among racialized Canadians who experienced discrimination, high life satisfaction was also more common when victims had a strong personal support network. This was true even after accounting for differences in socio-demographic characteristics.Note Almost half of victims of discrimination scored their life satisfaction as an 8 or higher on a 10-point scale when they had strong family connections (47%) or friend connections (49%). These proportions were similar to racialized people who did not experience any form of discrimination (50%). They were also significantly higher than discrimination victims overall (33%) and three times higher than victims without strong family (12%) and friend connections (17%).
As with the impact on mental health, the positive impact of strong family and friend supports was also seen among repeat victims. For example, repeat victims were four times as likely to have high life satisfaction when they had strong family supports (44%) (similar to non-victims) than when they did not (10%).
Further evidence of the positive association of social connections with life satisfaction can be seen when looking at other indicators of informal social supports. For instance, when victims have someone to count on, their likelihood of high life satisfaction doubled, from 21% for victims with no one to depend on to 42% for victims who had someone to count on. An even greater difference was seen by experiences of loneliness. Four in ten (41%) victims who rarely felt lonely had a high level of life satisfaction, compared to one in ten (11%) victims who often experienced loneliness (11%).
Having strong social supports unrelated to discrimination victims’ perception of the role of race and ethnicity in life success
While close social supports positively influence the wellbeing of discrimination victims, strong family and friend relationships had no effect on victims’ perceptions of inequality and its impact on personal life success. For instance, victims’ belief that race made it harder to succeed did not lower with strong family and friend supports – it remained twice as common among victims with (50%) and without (58%) family supports, compared to their non-discriminated peers (27%). This may suggest that strong personal connections help fortify the victims’ understanding that their race – an immutable characteristic – was the reason for the discrimination at school, work or elsewhere, and by extension, its role in their life success.
Negative outlook of Canadian society less common among victims with strong family and friend supports
For general feelings towards other Canadians, victims were more likely to feel warmly towards others if they had close connections with family and friends. In particular, 38% of victims who were highly satisfied with their family relationships had warm feelings towards other Canadians. This compares to 31% of victims with lower levels of satisfaction. The difference was even more noticeable when considering friendships, with warm feelings of others being reported by 42% of victims with strong friendships and 28% without strong friend ties.
For future outlook in Canadian society, victims’ perceptions were far less negative when they had strong ties to family and friends, with one of the greatest differences centering around hope in economic opportunities in Canada. Specifically, a lack of hope in financial opportunities were reported by one in five victims (22%) who had close ties to friends - much lower than the two in five victims (43%) without these same friend connections (Table 5). A similar pattern was seen for the role of family connections, where 26% of victims with close family ties lacked hope for economic opportunities in Canada, compared to 41% without close family ties. The importance of close personal connections on feelings of hope may speak to the role of personal networks in providing access to resources, such as contacts and job opportunities, along with overall emotional support.
Similar patterns were seen for unity among Canadians and the way democracy works in Canada, with lack of hope being consistently lower among victims with close personal connections. In fact, the role of family and friends appears to be so powerful that the rates of hopelessness among victims start to mirror the rates for non-victims. In the case of views on democracy in Canada, lack of hope stood at 11% of victims with strong friend connections - similar to non-victims (8%) and much lower than the proportion for victims without close friend ties (21%).
| Feelings of hope by level of relationship satisfaction | Negative outlook | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion | 95% confidence interval | Predicted probabilities | ||
| Lower limit | Upper limit | |||
| percent | ||||
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey Series on People and their Communities, 2023-2024. |
||||
| No hope in unity among Canadians | ||||
| Satisfaction with family relationships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 12.7 | 9.4 | 16.0 | 15.0 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 28.2 Table 5 Note * | 19.2 | 37.1 | 24.3 Table 5 Note * |
| Satisfaction with friendships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 13.0 | 8.7 | 17.2 | 15.1 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 25.2 Table 5 Note * | 17.9 | 32.5 | 23.1 Table 5 Note * |
| No hope for democracy in Canada | ||||
| Satisfaction with family relationships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 11.0 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 11.6 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 22.7 Table 5 Note * | 15.3 | 30.2 | 21.3 Table 5 Note * |
| Satisfaction with friendships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 10.8 | 7.1 | 14.5 | 11.6 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 20.9 Table 5 Note * | 14.9 | 26.9 | 19.5 Table 5 Note * |
| No hope in economic opportunities | ||||
| Satisfaction with family relationships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 26.2 | 21.1 | 31.7 | 26.7 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 40.9 Table 5 Note * | 31.7 | 50.2 | 37.3 Table 5 Note * |
| Satisfaction with friendships | ||||
| High level of satisfaction: 8 or higher on 10-point scale (ref.) | 21.8 | 16.1 | 27.5 | 22.2 |
| Other levels of satisfaction: 0 to 7 on 10-point scale | 42.8 Table 5 Note * | 35.4 | 50.2 | 40.1 Table 5 Note * |
Conclusion
Discrimination is a lived reality for many racialized Canadians, with nearly half (45%) experiencing some form of discrimination across different environments, from school, work and public places. Those at greatest risk were young and single with high levels of education.
There is a clear correlation between experiencing discrimination and poor mental health, lower levels of life satisfaction, a greater belief that race determines life success, as well as a greater tendency to lack hope in the unity among Canadians, how democracy works, and economic opportunities.
This study suggests that strong social supports help to mitigate, at least to a certain extent, the negative wellbeing outcomes among those who experience discrimination. Victims with high level of satisfaction with family and friends were three times less likely to have poor mental health, and three times more likely to be highly satisfied with their lives, compared to those who experienced discrimination but were less satisfied with their personal relationships. Strong personal network were also associated with more positive views of Canadian society, notably beliefs around economic opportunities in Canada.
Given that previous research has consistently found a positive association between participation in groups and mental wellbeing, future studies should go beyond personal relationships to consider the mitigating role of broader sources of support, namely participation in sports, cultural groups and associations, on the wellbeing and societal perceptions among discrimination victims.
Maire Sinha is a senior analyst with the Centre for Social Data Development and Insights at Statistics Canada.
Data sources, methods, and definitions
Data sources
The Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC) is a series of social surveys that began in 2022, which involved creating a panel of people who agreed to complete a series of short surveys. This release used Panel 5 for the first half of the paper, while the analysis on the impact of social connections was based on all panels. These surveys were administered in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and covered topics on racism and discrimination, satisfaction with relationships, and wellbeing among other topics. The reference period for this survey is: Oct 14, 2022 to Apr 22, 2024 (1st panel Oct 14, 2022 - Jan 3, 2023; 2nd panel May 5, 2023 - July 25, 2023; 3rd panel Oct 2, 2023 - Oct 22, 2023; 4th panel Nov 27, 2023 - Dec 17, 2023; 5th panel Apr 2, 2024 - Apr 22, 2024). Although the same respondents were approached for each panel, cohorts differ between each panel of the SSPC, due to varying response rates.
The SSPC is part of Statistics Canada’s Disaggregated Data Action Plan (DDAP), which aims to produce detailed statistical information to highlight the lived experiences of specific population groups, such as women, Indigenous peoples, racialized groups, and people living with disabilities. Using the 2021 Census survey frame, the sample for the SSPC included an oversampling of immigrants, and Canadians self-declaring as being part of racialized groups. This enabled production of more reliable statistics for diverse racialized groups and immigrant populations.
The target population for the SSPC are those aged 15 years and older living in the ten provinces of Canada. Excluded from the SSPC’s coverage are: residents of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut; full-time residents of institutions (e.g., inmates, patients living in nursing homes); and residents of reserves and other Indigenous settlements. These groups together represent an exclusion of less than 2.5% of the Canadian population aged 15 and over. Since the survey frame is based on the respondents to the 2021 long-form Census, the observed population does not include individuals who immigrated to Canada after the census reference date on May 11, 2021.
The survey series target sample consisted of a total of 70,000 individuals, with response rates of 12.9% for Panel 5. Survey weighting procedures were undertaken, including non-response adjustment and calibration, to align the sample with the target population. More information on SSPC sampling procedures can be found here: Surveys and statistical programs - Survey Series on People and their Communities.
Respondents were contacted through mail, email, or telephone for their first survey of the SSPC, and through email or telephone for subsequent surveys in the series. Data were collected directly from survey respondents either through an electronic questionnaire (EQ) or through computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).
Methods
To examine discrimination over the previous five-year period, SSPC panel 5 was used. This panel contains detailed information on the incidents of discrimination, along with socio-demographic characteristics. The merged SSPC file, which contains both questions on discrimination and social connections, was leveraged to look at the mitigating effect of social connections on discrimination in terms of wellbeing. The sample size of the merged file is smaller because only respondents who answered all panels are included.
All estimates were produced using survey weights, which addresses non-response bias and makes the results representative of the Canadian population. The sampling variance was calculated by using bootstrap weights.
Logistic regression analyses were conducted to model risk of experiencing discrimination, the mental health associations of discrimination, and the role of social connections on a number of wellbeing and perception indicators.
Predicted probabilities were estimated using logistic regression models, which were run separately for various outcomes, namely: discrimination, poor mental health, high life satisfaction, negative outlook on unity among Canadians, negative outlook on democracy, and negative outlook on economic opportunities. These separate regressions were adjusted for covariates (socio-demographic characteristics of gender, age, marital status, education, income, immigration, disability, 2SLGBTQ+, and province) and intervening variables (i.e., connections with family and friends).
Limitations
Response rates to each of the surveys were also somewhat low, particularly for Panel 5. Therefore, caution should be exercised when interpreting the results. For more information on response rates and data accuracy, see: Surveys and statistical programs - Survey Series on People and their Communities.
Definitions
Racial discrimination was measured with the following question, ‘In the past 5 years, have you experienced any of the following situations because of your race or ethnicity?
- You experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly by others (e.g., denied service or employment, treated badly or with suspicion)
- You experienced exclusion (e.g., made to feel like you don't belong, or you are inferior, or people are avoiding you)
- You experienced physical attacks, abuse, intimidation or threats
- You experienced verbal abuse (e.g., name-calling, racial slurs, or ridicule)
- You did not experience any of these situations because of your race or ethnicity’
Canadians refers to all people living in Canada, regardless of citizenship status.
Women+: This category includes women (and/or girls), as well as some non-binary persons.
Men+: This category includes men (and/or boys), as well as some non-binary persons.
Racialized population: The concept of "racialized population" or “racialized group” is derived directly from the concept of "visible minority" in the 2021 Census. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". It consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese. Indigenous people are not included among the racialized population in the current analysis.
2SLGBTQ+: Refers to people who are Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, or who uses other terms related to gender and sexual diversity
Immigrant: Refers to a person who is, or who has ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Such a person has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this group.
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