Abstract

Six cycles of the Canadian Community Health surveys (CCHS) from 2001 to 2009 were used to compare the income and health of the minority French-speaking aging population (over 65 years of age) to the majority English-speaking group in Canada, excluding Quebec. A sequential multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that men and women of the minority French-speaking population of this age group, living in Canada outside the province of Quebec, are more likely to be in the poorest income quintile than their English-speaking counterparts. This disparity remains significant even after controlling for residence (province and urban/rural), household makeup (living alone or not), immigration status, education, employment, health status, chronic diseases, and restrictions in activities. Independently of other key socio-demographic factors modulating health, our results also show that being in the poorest income quintile is associated with a poor self-perceived health, a finding that was more prevalent in the French-speaking aging population living in situation of minority.