Who gets to live on the islands?

What the evidence shows

• What we know: The Trust says many islands have a housing crisis. The census, a count of people, shows that places have different groups of residents.
• What we are checking: Do rules about suites, cottages and house size leave families with fewer housing choices?
• What we cannot say yet: We have not shown that Trust rules caused the islands’ racial makeup or broke equality law.

The Trust sees a housing problem

Many people need homes

The Trust says many islands have a housing and worker shortage. It calls this a housing equity crisis. That tells us the Trust sees a problem. It does not tell us which rules, if any, caused it. Source: Islands Trust housing affordability program.

One trustee asked about race

In a 2020 personal statement, Denman trustee Laura Busheikin asked if building rules make island life hard to reach for racialized people and people with less money. She asked a question. She did not report a study that proved it. Source: Laura Busheikin, personal statement on racism, July 2020.

Can several generations live close together?

Some families want grandparents, parents and children to live together. They might share one house. Or they might live in a house with a small suite or cottage. A suite is a separate home inside a house. A cottage is a small home on the same lot. Not every immigrant family wants the same kind of home.

The census calls racialized people “visible minorities.” It counts Indigenous people separately. We use these census groups to compare the numbers.

What the census says: In BC, living with three or more generations was more common for racialized people born outside Canada. The group we compare them with was also born outside Canada. These numbers cover people ages 25 to 64. They do not describe island families.

• Racialized people born outside Canada: 13.50%. 106,845 out of 791,385 people lived with three or more generations.
• Non-racialized people born outside Canada: 3.52%. 8,790 out of 249,390 people lived with three or more generations.

About these numbers: BC residents ages 25 to 64 who were born outside Canada. The 2021 Census asked a sample of people and used their answers to estimate these counts. These are people, not families. The numbers do not account for income, age of children, renting or owning, or other differences. They do not tell us who lives on the islands. Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Table 98-10-0657-01.

The Trust says old rules favoured one house

North Pender’s 2025 housing plan says Trust planning has mostly made room for one house on a lot. This left fewer choices for people who cannot buy land. The plan calls for more suites and small homes. That is a plan to change the rules, not proof that a rule kept a family out. Source: North Pender Housing Action Plan, endorsed May 30, 2025, pp. 1–3.

One North Pender rule we can test

In North Pender’s RR1 zone, the rules usually allow one house and one suite. A cottage can be added on lots of at least 1.2 hectares, or about 3 acres. But the RR1(a) part of this zone bans suites.

What this rule does: People on an RR1(a) lot cannot add a legal suite under these land-use rules. Relatives can still share the house. What we do not know: How many suites people would have built, or who would have lived in them. Source: North Pender Island Land Use Bylaw No. 224, sections 5.1(1)–(3), (9) and Table 5.1.

We will check the rules on every Trust island. For each area, we will ask if a family can share a four- or five-bedroom house. We will also ask if they can have a main house with a suite or cottage.

The numbers show a gap. They do not say why.

These counts use the census term “visible minority.” Indigenous people are counted separately. We need other data and work with First Nations to study Indigenous access.

The Southern Gulf Islands share went up from 3.1% in 2016 to 3.7% in 2021. We cannot say it fell during those years. These are small, rounded census counts. We still need to check if the area’s borders changed.

The BC number includes large cities. It is not a fair match for small islands reached by ferry.

Can we link a rule to who gets a home?

A low share of racialized residents does not, by itself, prove that a Trust rule kept people out. To make that case, we need to show that a rule hurts a group protected by equality law more than others. We do not have to show that officials meant to hurt anyone. Department of Justice, Charterpedia: section 15 explains the law.

1. Find the rule. Name the exact home-building rule and when it began.
2. Count possible homes. Check what people could build. Include water, sewage, land, cost and ferry limits.
3. Find out who is hurt. Check if the rule makes homes harder to get for a group protected by equality law. Ask families to share their stories only if they agree.

We will study every Trust island and some islands outside the Trust, including Cortes, Quadra and Texada. Some census areas include more than one island or part of the mainland. We will check their borders before we compare them. Read our comparison plan and economic study.

What else could explain the gap?

• Ferries, water, jobs, land and vacation homes may also affect who can live on an island.
• The census areas for Cortes and Quadra include other places. We still need to check the exact census area for Texada.
• One BC census file has housing and income data, but no data on race or where people were born. Some small counts may be hidden to protect privacy. The 2011 survey was optional.
• The census cannot count people who wanted to move to an island but could not find a home. Permit records also miss people who never applied.

If a similar island outside the Trust has the same problem, that may weaken our case. The same is true if water, rather than zoning, stopped a home. We will also report Trust housing projects that worked.

What we will check next

1. Check the borders used in old and new census counts for each island.
2. Find data on race, where people were born, family homes and housing. We will say when a count is too small to use.
3. Read the home-building rules for every Trust island. Then check which homes people asked to build, which were built and what stopped others.
4. Talk with families who could not find a home, if they agree. We will protect their private details.

Updated 2026-10-04. Search our public records. To report an error or send a public document, email corrections@abolishislandstrust.org. Please do not email private details about anyone’s identity. Read our privacy policy.