Immigration, aging, housing costs fuel rise in multigenerational households
TORONTO — About a year after Yi Jiang and her family moved to Ottawa from China, they found themselves sharing a two-bedroom apartment with her parents.
After living together in Shenzhen, it seemed only natural that once the entire family was in Canada, her parents would live with her, her husband and their young son, she said. The couple has since had another child, and last year all six moved to a house in the suburbs.
“It’s very important for me to live with them … they are the most important people in my life and I am the only child,” said Jiang, a producer for a Mandarin radio show.
Such arrangements are very common in China and many continue the practice after they immigrate, she added.