HOMES IN NORTHERN CANADA IN NEED OF FIXING UP

www.conferenceboard.ca

OTTAWA, Oct 6 /CNW/ - Residents in the three territories and the northern parts of seven provinces are more likely to be living in homes needing major repairs than Canadians living in the South, according to The Conference Board of Canada's latest Here, the North map.

"Homes in northern Canada are between two and four times more likely to be in need of major repairs compared to residences in the South," said Gilles Rhéaume, Vice-President, Public Policy. "Homes in Northern Manitoba and Northern Saskatchewan are in particularly dire condition."

The map, Needs Major Repairs, is based on data collected in the 2006 census. According to Statistics Canada, major repairs are defined as "in the judgment of the respondent, the housing they occupy requires the repair of defective plumbing or electrical wiring, structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings, etc."

In Northern Manitoba, 28 per cent of homes were deemed to be in need of major repairs, compared to only nine per cent of residences in Southern Manitoba. Almost half of the homes in one census division - North East Manitoba - were categorized as needing major repairs.

In Saskatchewan, 38 per cent of northern homes were considered in need of major repairs, compared to 10 per cent in the southern part of the province.

In the three territories, Nunavut had 20 per cent of homes in need of major repairs, the Northwest Territories had 18 per cent and Yukon had 15 per cent in this category.

Only in Quebec does the percentage of homes needing major repairs in the north (nine per cent) approximate the percentage in the southern part of the province (eight per cent). Nevertheless, in one census division - the Quebec-Nord region - 21 per cent of the houses are categorized as being in need of major repairs.

Needs Major Repairs is the sixth map in the Centre for the North's series, designed to illustrate similarities and differences between Canada's North and South and among northern regions.

The Centre for the North is a Conference Board of Canada program of research and dialogue. Its main purpose is to work with Aboriginal leaders, businesses, governments, communities, educational institutions, and other organizations to provide insights into how sustainable prosperity can be achieved in the North. Over its five-year mandate, the Centre for the North will help to establish and implement strategies, policies and practices to transform that vision into reality.

For further information:

Brent Dowdall, Media Relations, Tel.: [phone] ext.  448
E-mail: [email protected]