Housing unaffordability still rising despite billions in government measures: PBO

Unaffordability still rising

Photo: The Canadian Press

New single family houses billed as estate cottages and townhouses under construction are seen in an aerial view, in Delta, B.C., on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Canada is spending billions of dollars a year to address housing affordability, yet the number of households in core housing need is still rising. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the number of households in need is still rising even though Canada is spending billions of dollars a year to address housing affordability,

A new report from the budget watchdog this morning says 2.4 million Canadian households are now in core housing need.

That means they're living in unaffordable, unsuitable or inadequate housing.

In 2017, Canada unveiled its national housing strategy to help improve access to affordable homes by 2027.

But the PBO report says by then, another 200,000 households will be in housing need, largely because incomes haven't kept up with rising utility, rent, mortgage and property tax costs.

The report does say without the government's initiatives, there would be about 78,000 more households in need of affordable homes.