Data doesn’t lie: housing in Canada has become deeply unaffordable. And it’s not just about the rising cost of homes — it’s about the growing wealth gap and widening generational divides.
As home prices rise far faster than incomes or inflation, the divide between young and old, and between renters and homeowners, continues to grow. Housing has become Canada’s biggest wealth divider — and without change, that gap will only get worse.
How Canada Compares to the U.S.
According to the latest research highlighted by Hanif Bayat, PhD (CEO of [Properly/The Globe and Mail feature]), Canadian cities dominate the list of the least affordable places to live in North America:
Vancouver ranks as the least affordable city, with an affordability ratio of 13.5. A typical home costs about $1.17M, while the median household income is just $86K.
Toronto follows closely behind at 10.4, with benchmark home prices near $981K and median incomes of $94K.
Los Angeles is the only U.S. city in the top three, with a ratio of 10.7.
For context, New York — often seen as one of the world’s most expensive cities — has a ratio of 7.7, making it significantly more affordable than both Vancouver and Toronto when compared against household incomes.
Why Is Canada Different?
The divergence between Canadian and U.S. housing affordability began after the 2007–08 financial crisis. In the U.S., stricter lending and housing reforms cooled speculative demand. In Canada, looser monetary policy and heavy reliance on real estate allowed prices to soar.
Today, the problem is made worse by:
Stagnant incomes that haven’t kept pace with housing costs.
Restrictive zoning and red tape, which limit new housing supply.
Speculative demand, with real estate treated more as an investment vehicle than a place to live.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just a housing issue. It’s a social and economic issue. When the cost of a typical home is more than 10 times the median household income, homeownership becomes an unattainable dream for many Canadians. That means younger generations face a different financial reality than their parents or grandparents — and the wealth gap between homeowners and non-homeowners will only widen.
Why It Matters
Without meaningful change, housing will remain the largest driver of generational inequality in Canada. Addressing this crisis will require:
Policies that increase supply by reducing zoning restrictions and bureaucratic delays.
Efforts to align housing with incomes, not just speculative demand.
A balanced approach that protects affordability while ensuring sustainable growth in housing markets.
Bottom line: Canada’s housing affordability crisis is bigger than Vancouver or Toronto — it’s a national challenge. Unless structural changes are made, housing will continue to be the country’s greatest wealth divider for generations to come.