Canada Housing Policy Research Brief

Government efforts to foster housing affordability fall short. In Canada, single-family home prices increased by roughly 60 per cent from 2019 to 2022, while the pace of apartment rent growth reached an all-time high of 16 per cent. Consequently, housing affordability remains a challenge for many Canadians. While various levels of government are attempting to address this concern, a historic level of immigration is resulting in Canada’s population growth outpacing new housing supply. It is estimated that new home starts need to rise by 50 per cent in order to accommodate the nation’s long-term population growth. However, with Canada’s housing market softening, new home starts are also slowing. As a result, further government initiative is needed to increase housing development.