University Study Finds That Higher Education Does Little to Close the Racial Economic Gap in Montreal

The city of Montreal is home to about 200,000 blacks. They make up about 20 percent of the entire black population of Canada. A study by researchers at McGill University in Montreal finds wide-ranging racial inequality in several demographic areas.

The study found that for residents in the 25 to 44 age group, 25 percent of blacks were university graduates compared to 33 percent of nonblacks. Blacks in Montreal had average incomes that were 66 percent of the average white income. More than 13 percent of blacks in Montreal were unemployed, a rate more than double that of whites.

The study found that half of all black children in Montreal live in poverty. For black women ages 45 to 64, 33 percent are single parents. This is more than triple the rate of white women in the same age group.

One third of all blacks in Montreal own their home compared to two thirds of whites.

The study found that higher education does little to alleviate the racial economic gap. Data shows that 30 percent of blacks with a graduate degree earn more than $45,000 a year. The comparable figure for whites is 54 percent. Only 23 percent of blacks with a bachelor’s degree earned more than $45,000. This was about half the rate for whites with a bachelor’s degree.