RACIAL DISPARITY AND DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING IN CANADA

Abstract

This article examines the various ways racialized people and communities face discrimination, disparity, and insecurity of housing tenure across Canada. This review encompasses various governance measures at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.

Part I examines the concept of “race” in Canada before turning to an overview of the structural and government-perpetuated challenges facing racialized persons in Canada with relation to security of housing in Part II. Part III turns to landlord-based discrimination and the procedure and difficulty of proving such discrimination.

Through this analysis, a number of structural conditions faced by people of colour impacting housing security become clearer. These include the scripting of people of colour as outsiders/non-citizens, lending and other barriers to homeownership, unsuitable housing and poor housing conditions, a severe lack of affordable housing, the deep historical roots of current racial inequality, and the nexus between labor, education, and housing. Moreover, the difficulties of contesting both structural conditions as well as landlord-specific discrimination demonstrates how mitigation of these circumstances is well beyond the abilities of any individual tenant. The primary goal of this article is to canvas the myriad forms of discrimination and exclusion as well as review existing literature and empirical studies in making a call for further research.