DEEP RIVER AND AREA SENIORS’ HOUSING SURVEY REPORT – extract (corrected)
For the full report, visit http://www.deepriver.ca/projects/housing-advisory-committee/seniorshousing-survey-report-available-for-download-6278.html
Description of the survey area
The North Renfrew area is located about 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa and runs
along 110 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway (see map). Covering a total area of 1,662
square kilometres, it consists of four municipalities: Laurentian Hills to the south,
surrounding Deep River; Head, Clara, and Maria to the north, and Rapides-des-Joachims, a
municipality in Quebec that is relatively isolated in its own county but is close to Laurentian
Hills.
The area is generally known for its tremendous outdoors lifestyle and beautiful natural
settings on the banks of the Ottawa River. It boasts spectacular scenery, excellent hiking,
great cross-country skiing and snowmobile trails, and superb boating.
In 2011 the total population of the four municipalities was 7,370, with a density of 4.4
people per square kilometres, and there were 3,202 dwellings occupied by primary
residents. The main employer for the survey area is the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
Produced by County of Renfrew Development and Property Department / Sources: Base Data: With data supplied under Licence by
Members of the Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange & County of Renfrew Projection: UTM NAD83 Zone 18
Deep River and area seniors’ housing survey report extract (corrected) / 1
Municipality demographic and housing profiles
Except where noted, all of the data in this section comes from the Census and the National
Household Survey, both provided by Statistics Canada. Numbers are estimates, owing to
rounding.
Deep River
Founded in 1945 and built to accommodate the employees of the Canadian Nuclear
Laboratories, the town and municipality of Deep River is the newest of the four
municipalities included in the survey, and has the highest population. The laboratories
remain the town’s primary employer.
The town’s 2011 population was 4,193 people, of whom approximately 965 people were 65
or older, or 23% of the population. This is a small increase from the 2006 Census, in which
seniors made up 21% of the population; in the 2001 Census, it was 22%.
Of the 600 households with residents who are 65 and older, 255, or 42%, live alone.
According to the “Primer on demographics and housing” prepared by Jp2g for the town’s
Official Plan renewal process, “While all age categories have grown in the Town during the
10-year period from 2001–2011, the highest rate of growth is seen in the 50–54 and
55–59 age ranges. It is anticipated that this growth will transfer to the 60–64, 65–74 and
75+ age categories as the baby boomer cohort ages.”1
Of the 1,848 private dwellings in the municipality occupied by their “usual residents”
(residents for whom the dwelling is their primary or sole residence) in 2011:
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32% had residents 65 or older as the primary household maintainer.
19% of all dwellings had residents 75 or older as the primary maintainer.
Type, age, and state of the 1,848 private dwellings:
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76% of these were single-detached houses, 10% were semi-detached houses,
and 13% were units in apartment buildings.
72% of those dwellings had three or more bedrooms.
70% of households in town had just one or two residents.
53% of the dwellings were built before 1960 – in other words, over half the
housing stock is at least 55 years old, if not older.
Another 35% are at least 35 years old.
Just 3%, or 55 dwellings, were built between 2001 and 2011.
4%, or 80 dwellings, were reported by their residents as needing major repairs (such
as repair of defective plumbing or electrical wiring, structural repair to walls, floors
or ceilings, or related conditions).
By tenure, 15% of households were renting. The vacancy rate is reported by local real estate
agents to be very close to zero.
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Income and dwelling costs:
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The median household total income in 2010 was $80,604; for one-person
households, it was $49,374.
The prevalence of low income in 2010 among seniors, based on the after-tax lowincome measure, was 9.4%.
Of 1,565 owner households, 9.6% were spending 30% or more of their household
total income on shelter costs.
Overall, 12% of all households were spending 30% or more of their household total
income on shelter costs.
Subsidized housing: According to Jackie Agnew, program coordinator for the Renfrew
County Housing Corporation, “There are two extreme ends of the income spectrum in Deep
River. Many people have incomes $20,000 above the national average whereas other
residents are trying to survive on a $1,000 a month. There is currently a three-year waiting
list for the 24 Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) units in Deep River. Most of the applicants on
the waiting list are Deep River residents.”
More on Deep River dwellings: A comparison of household types with dwelling types illustrates
the need for more varied and smaller housing forms than are currently available in Deep
River. Fewer households in 2011 than 2001 contained a couple with children (i.e.,
households with at least three persons), the number of couples without children was steady
(i.e., two-person households), and the number of single-person households was sharply
increasing. There was also an increase in other types of households that may have different
housing needs, including unrelated multi-person households, lone-parent households, and
multi-family households.2
Laurentian Hills
The Municipality of Laurentian Hills is an amalgamation of the village of Chalk River
(founded in 1875) and the Townships of Rolph, Buchanan, Wylie, and McKay (1859). It
comprises the communities of Chalk River, Meilleurs Bay, Moore Lake, Point Alexander,
Rolphton, and Wylie across 640 square kilometres.
Chalk River is the site of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, the main employer in the area;
military base Garrison Petawawa at its northern edge is another primary employer. The
former townships provide seasonal recreational opportunities such as fishing, swimming,
boating, hunting, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.
The municipality’s 2011 population was 2,811 people, of whom approximately 385 people
were age 65 and older, or 14% of the population. This is only a nominal increase from the
2006 Census, in which seniors made up 13% of the population, and the 2001 Census, with
12% of the population.
Of the 1,190 private dwellings in the municipality occupied by their usual residents in 2011:
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24% had residents 65 or older as the primary household maintainer.
5% of all dwellings had residents 75 or older as the primary maintainer.
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Type, age, and state of the 1,190 private dwellings:
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92% were single-detached houses. In addition, there were 5 semi-detached houses,
10 row houses, 50 mobile homes, and 20 units in an apartment building.
29% of the dwellings were at least 55 years old.
A further 37% of the dwellings were between 35 and 54 years old.
77% had three or more bedrooms.
10% were rented.
7% were reported by their residents as requiring major repairs.
Income and dwelling costs:
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The median household total income in 2010 was $65,350; for one-person
households, it was $28,988.
The prevalence of low income in 2010 among seniors, based on the after-tax
low-income measure, was 14%.
Of 1,030 owner households, 20.5% were spending 30% or more of their household
total income on shelter costs.
Of 160 tenant households, 22% were in subsidized housing.
Overall, 18% of all households were spending 30% or more of their household total
income on shelter costs.
Head, Clara, and Maria
Incorporated in 1878, the Municipality of the United Townships of Head, Clara and Maria is
located on the westernmost border of Renfrew County. It consists of four hamlets, Deux
Rivières, Bissett Creek, Stonecliffe, and Mackey, across 728 square kilometres. The
municipality office is in Stonecliffe.
The municipality runs along 60 kilometres of Trans Canada Highway 17 and is bordered by
the Ottawa River on the north and Algonquin Park on the south. The primary industries are
tourism and logging.
Its 2011 population was 235 people, of whom approximately 50 people were age 65 and
older (numbers were rounded to a base of 5 in the Census owing to low numbers), or 21% of
the population. This was an increase from the 2006 Census, in which seniors made up 15%
of the population, and the 2001 Census, with 17% of the population.
Of the 103 private dwellings in the municipality occupied by their usual residents:
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100% are owned; no rentals were reported.
86% are single-detached houses.
33% are at least 55 years old.
A further 29% dwellings are between 35 and 54 years old.
24% were reported by their residents as requiring major repairs.
Median income levels and dwelling costs were suppressed in the National Household Survey
for privacy reasons, owing to low population numbers.
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Rapides-des-Joachims
First mentioned in documents in 1686, Rapides-des-Joachims – locally pronounced as
“Swisha” – is the oldest settlement in the survey group and is part of Pontiac County in
Quebec. The municipality consists of one village, sharing the same name, and 242 square
kilometres of forest and lakes. Although it is isolated from other settlements in Quebec, it is
close to Laurentian Hills. Its primary industries are logging and tourism offering hunting and
fishing.
The village had 131 residents in the 2011 Census, of whom approximately 25 (numbers were
rounded to a base of 5 in the Census owing to low numbers) were age 65 and older, or 19%
of the population.
Of the 64 private dwellings in the municipality occupied by their usual residents, 92% are
single-detached houses. Little else is known owing to incomplete data in the National
Household Survey. Median income levels and dwelling costs were suppressed for privacy
reasons, owing to low population numbers.
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