Ontario faces three crises in housing – attainability, affordability and homelessness. These crises were and are exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The economic chaos created as our American allies become difficult neighbours threatens to pile on top of the COVID-19 damage before our...

The affordable housing crisis in Canada creates many challenges for millions of people trying to find a place to live that they can afford. For many marginalized renters, discrimination presents additional barriers making it even harder for them to find a home.  To better understand these...

This article analyses results from the Canadian Housing Survey, 2022 , using new variables on homelessness and factors contributing to regaining and maintaining housing. The paper provides a descriptive overview of different types of homelessness experiences in Canada, highlighting select...

The policy brief, Provincial spending on housing and homelessness in Ontario, presents a stark reality: homelessness in Ontario is worsening, with chronic homelessness nearly doubling in just two years. The policy brief finds that:  Homelessness is worsening: Over 81,000 Ontarians experienced...

Canada is facing housing affordability challenges. In 2021, one in five households (20.9%) lived in unaffordable housing, defined as spending 30% or more of household total income on shelter costs (Statistics Canada, 2022c). Some estimates have projected a need for an additional 3.5 million housing...

In 2019, Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act recognized housing as a human right. This report highlights the progress, partnerships, and collective actions that have driven the right to housing movement forward, with a particular focus on key milestones and achievements in...

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) report examines and compares key measures of financial well-being for 3 groups of Canadians: homeowners with mortgages, homeowners without mortgages, and renters. The data shown here are derived from FCAC’s COVID-19 Financial Well-being Survey....

Homelessness among women and gender-diverse people in Canada has been declared by the Federal Housing Advocate a national human rights crisis. This new toolkit will support the evidence- and testimony gathering for the upcoming National Housing Council’s Review Panel on Canada’s Failure to...

Shared equity homeownership is a self-sustaining subsidy model for achieving affordable homeownership. Stable and affordable homeownership is an important way to build long-term wealth, increase a sense of agency, and create a path to economic security for individuals, communities, and future...

On August 5, 2024, FCAC relaunched its national, multi-media advertising campaign titled “Housing Costs on Your Mind?”. The campaign promotes FCAC’s tools and resources related to renting, buying a home and owning a home with a mortgage. The campaign runs until...

This toolkit provides: An overview of some solutions that shelter providers can implement to improve their service delivery and processes in a way that upholds the rights and dignity of shelter residents.  Helpful resources to support shelter providers, advocates and lived experts in...

Struggling to pay your mortgage? FCAC expects federally regulated financial institutions to help you if you're struggling to pay your mortgage due to exceptional circumstances. Learn more about paying your mortgage when experiencing financial...

This groundbreaking initiative is aimed at transforming emergency shelter services across Canada to better uphold the rights of women and gender-diverse people. Emergency shelters play a critical role in providing immediate support, but they are often overwhelmed and under-resourced. In response...

As the growth in the number of renter households in Canada outpaces the growth of homeownership,2 tenants, property owners and researchers are sounding the alarm that more can and must be done to recognize the right to adequate housing in Canada.  Central to these calls is a better understanding...

Greater attention has been given in recent years to the role of parental wealth in the home ownership aspirations of younger Canadians. Just as the intergenerational transmission of income inequality is of concern, an increasing reliance on the "Bank of Mom and Dad" raises questions about how...

While available research indicates that gender-diverse persons experience intersecting challenges to accessing adequate housing in Canada, there has been limited human rights analysis of this group’s experiences. Available research indicates that trans and gender-diverse persons experience...

Many people living in First Nations communities do not have access to housing that is safe and in good condition—a fundamental human right. Improving housing for First Nations is vital for their physical, mental, and economic health and well-being. This is the fourth time since 2003 that we...

Between 2016 and 2021, B.C. lost nearly 100,000 rental units priced below $1,000 monthly. For every new affordable rental home built in B.C., four more are lost to investors, conversions, demolition and rent increases, and new affordable units do not compensate for the loss of existing ones. The...

Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs. Click "Access this resource"...

Canada's homeless encampments are a national human rights crisis. A growing number of people in Canada are having to live in tents or informal shelters to survive due to a lack of affordable housing, limited support services, and nowhere safe to go. Recognizing the severity of this crisis, the...

Rental apartment supply increased, but it has not kept up with the growing demand. As a result, vacancy rates have reached record lows while rent prices have soared to record highs. This situation has raised major concerns about the affordability of rental housing. Read the rental market...

The National Housing Strategy Act (NHSA) of 2019 introduced landmark human rights mechanisms aimed at addressing systemic housing issues in Canada. These mechanisms enable rights holders who have borne the brunt of Canada’s housing crisis to have their voices heard, claim their rights, and offer...

Renters across Canada are facing exorbitant rental housing costs, driven by excessive rent increases and the loss of affordable homes. Many renters are left with so few housing options that they can afford, leaving them vulnerable to “economic eviction,” or being forced to live in a home that...

Economies around the world have had some rough years recently. From a global pandemic, a bout of inflation, a disruption in supply chains, coping with a European war and ongoing concern about global financial stability. The Canadian economy has weathered these storms as well, if not better than...

The Housing Supply Report provides regular insights on new housing supply in Canada’s major cities and urban areas. These insights can help us understand the supply responsiveness that we know contributes to price escalation and housing affordability challenges. This report examines new housing...