This section will report the number of houses that need to be subsidized and built to ensure that people who experience or are at the greatest risk of houselessness are relocated. The last section will report political parties’ proposed commitment to ending the housing crisis.
By definition, the issue of houselessness cannot be resolved until a houseless person gains access to their own house. Homeless Hub highlights that “housing is not contingent upon readiness, or on ‘compliance’ (for instance, sobriety). Rather, it is a rights-based intervention rooted in the philosophy that all people deserve housing, and that adequate housing is a precondition for recovery”. The housing shortage and affordability is thus one of the primary causes of houselessness in Canada.
Canada is experiencing an extreme shortage of affordable housing. At least forty percent of renter households are paying unaffordable rents, spending nearly a third or more of their income on housing. The housing affordability was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 economic recession.
To have a fighting chance at ending houselessness and addressing the housing need, Canada will need to build at least 300,000 new deep subsidy, permanently affordable and supportive housing units and ensure those units are specifically prioritized to people experiencing or at greatest risk of houselessness**.**
A report from Scotiabank stated that Canada would need to build 1.8 million new homes to reach the G7 average of 471 homes per 1,000 residents. In Canada, the ratio is 424 homes for every 1,000 residents.
<aside> 🏚️ In 2022, the housing crisis has reached its peak. The average Canadian would have to spend at least 37% of their disposable income to service a mortgage on a new house. Due to pandemic and disruptions in almost all economic activities, the inflation is further driving up housing prices.
Rising housing costs disproportionately affect the youngest and poorest Canadians who are already economically vulnerable. More information about the public sentiment can be found at ‣.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kECot6kipOw
The major cities such as Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto experience declines in the vacancy rates accompanied by rise in monthly rents.
According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), housing is considered “affordable” if it costs less than 30% of your income.
A full breakdown of 16 major cities can be found in ‣
To address the pressing issue of the housing shortage, the following monetary and fiscal interventions were proposed as part of political campaign platforms in 2021.