An analysis of the socio-economic and housing conditions of Winnipeg's native single-parent population

Abstract

An examination of contemporary urban native conditions reveals that poverty and poor housing conditions do not affect all household types equally, but that in fact urban native single-parent families have become the poorest of the poor. Despite this reality, only marginal efforts are made to obtain a better understanding of the role, needs and conditions of native women in urban environments, and in light of this deficiency it is hoped that the thesis further contributes to the body of knowledge. The purpose of this thesis is hence to examine the housing conditions of urban native single-parent families in Winnipeg with particular focus on household type as a determining factor. The analysis of housing conditions will be extended to include an assessment of the socio-economic conditions of Winnipeg's native population using 1986 census data. Based on the findings of this study and in addition to insights provided by others, it could be concluded that although there is a significant relationship between household type and housing/socio-economic conditions, a number of individual and external determinants of poverty hold significant explanatory powers and therefore are part of the overall dynamic. The complexity of the issue at hand alludes to the fact that the poor housing conditions of urban native single-parent families are the result of a number of factors and all-encompassing solutions are therefore required to affect change.