As a general rule, when someone talks of “root causes” or “no quick fixes”, they are euphemisms for their decision to take no action at all.
datums on
Just some basic facts for anyone who wants to have an opinion on housing in Canada.
In 2024, there were 245k housing starts in Canada, representing 1.6% of the total stock.
Outside of the post pandemic spike, only 1989 saw the population grow faster than that, at 1.8%. The population growth rate has rarely been lower than 0.8% or higher than 1.5% since the 1960s.
So the rate at which Canada is building housing exceeds the population growth trend that’s been quite consistent since the end of the baby boom.
Put another way – the idea that Canada is simply refusing to build housing is just factually false, as is the idea that high immigration is to blame for high housing costs.
It should also be pointed out that real rents in Canada peaked in 2019, before the recent immigration rate spike.
There is not a one dimensional explanation for this problem, and there will not be a one dimensional solution.
2 Comments
As a general rule, when someone talks of “root causes” or “no quick fixes”, they are euphemisms for their decision to take no action at all.
Just some basic facts for anyone who wants to have an opinion on housing in Canada.
In 2024, there were 245k housing starts in Canada, representing 1.6% of the total stock.
Outside of the post pandemic spike, only 1989 saw the population grow faster than that, at 1.8%. The population growth rate has rarely been lower than 0.8% or higher than 1.5% since the 1960s.
So the rate at which Canada is building housing exceeds the population growth trend that’s been quite consistent since the end of the baby boom.
Put another way – the idea that Canada is simply refusing to build housing is just factually false, as is the idea that high immigration is to blame for high housing costs.
It should also be pointed out that real rents in Canada peaked in 2019, before the recent immigration rate spike.
There is not a one dimensional explanation for this problem, and there will not be a one dimensional solution.