2024-2025 SOAN Seminar Series

Canada is currently experiencing a housing affordability crisis. Over the past few decades, housing prices have risen at double the income growth rate, with rental prices increasing by 10% annually. More than one-fifth of families face unmet housing needs. One of the most vulnerable groups identified in this crisis is immigrants, particularly those from racial minority backgrounds. In this presentation, I first document variations in the risk of living in unaffordable housing for immigrant families according to their race/ethnicity and nativity status. Next, I examine how "multigenerational living" may mitigate the risk of unaffordable housing for children in single-mother and two-parent families. Finally, I evaluate the impact of access to subsidized housing on the risk of living in unaffordable housing for children from various family structures. Insights obtained from these studies can inform the National Housing Strategy, which aims to increase the number of affordable housing units.

Kate H. Choi is a social demographer, inequality scholar, and quantitative sociologist. Her research examines the nature, determinants, and consequences of social inequality, identifying the social forces and structures that perpetuate racial and socioeconomic inequality. She holds or has held multiple SSHRC Grants related to housing and well-being. She has published in journalsi ncluding Demography, Journal of Marriage and Family, and International Migration Review, and has featured in major media outlets including Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Toronto Star, and CBC. Choi received Western's Faculty Scholar Award in 2022.