Understanding Canada’s Housing Affordability Challenge

Canada's housing affordability crisis has intensified over recent years, with homeownership costs consuming a significant portion of household incomes across major cities. According to recent data from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the national aggregate affordability measure stood at 53.2% of median household income in the third quarter of 2025, an improvement from peaks above 60%, yet still burdensome for many. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) projects a need for an additional 3.5 million housing units by 2030 to restore long-term affordability, on top of the 2.3 million already forecasted between 2021 and 2030. In regions like Waterloo, local pressures from population growth, particularly among students and young professionals, exacerbate the issue, leading to overcrowding and unsuitable living conditions for vulnerable groups such as one-parent families, recent immigrants, and low-income residents.

This crisis stems from a combination of rapid population growth fueled by immigration, limited supply due to regulatory hurdles and construction slowdowns, and speculative investments treating housing as a financial asset rather than a basic need. Home prices are expected to rise between 2.2% and 5% in 2026, with sales rebounding amid economic recovery, further straining first-time buyers. The University of Waterloo, through its renowned School of Planning in the Faculty of Environment, has emerged as a key player in addressing these challenges via rigorous, evidence-based research.

University of Waterloo’s School of Planning: A Hub for Housing Innovation

The School of Planning at the University of Waterloo stands at the forefront of urban policy research, blending interdisciplinary approaches from economics, sociology, and environmental science to tackle real-world problems. Faculty and students collaborate on projects that inform policy at local, provincial, and national levels. Recent initiatives focus on everything from supply assessments to financial models disrupting traditional markets, positioning Waterloo as a thought leader in sustainable urban development.

For aspiring urban planners and researchers, opportunities abound in higher education. Explore higher ed jobs in planning and related fields to contribute to such impactful work.

Affordable Homeownership by 2030: The BUILD NOW Partnership

In a groundbreaking collaboration announced in January 2026, Dr. Leia Minaker, Director of the Future Cities Institute (FCI) and Professor in the School of Planning, partnered with Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region’s BUILD NOW initiative and CAIVAN. Funded by the University of Waterloo’s Global Futures Fund, this project aims to construct 10,000 “missing middle” homes—townhouses, walk-ups, mid-rises, and high-rises—by 2030, with 70% designated as perpetually affordable ownership units.

The methodology involves a “living lab” on a 25-acre site in Waterloo, where over 1,000 homes will be built first. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers, students, municipalities, and industry partners will evaluate outcomes rigorously, assessing impacts on family health, local economies, environmental sustainability, infrastructure, and technology integration. As Minaker notes, “Canada needs housing solutions that are both ambitious and practical. By asking tough questions and working across sectors, we can help build communities that are fair, productive and future-proof.”

This model addresses the core issue: homeownership outpacing income growth, widening generational inequities. By embedding research in real developments, it provides scalable insights for other Canadian regions facing similar shortages. For more details, visit the University of Waterloo’s project page.

Assessing Housing Needs: The ‘Making Room for Everyone’ Study

PhD candidate Alexander Petric led a comprehensive analysis published in the Canadian Planning and Policy Journal, examining housing supply against demand in Waterloo Region. Using building permit data and census statistics on housing suitability—defined as avoiding overcrowding (more than one person per room)—the study reveals stark mismatches.

• Downtown cores of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge show housing shortages relative to population growth, especially near the ION Light Rail.
• One-parent families and extended households (e.g., with grandparents) are disproportionately in unsuitable housing.
• Visible minorities, recent immigrants, and low-income groups face higher risks of overcrowding and affordability stress.

Recommendations urge integrating demographic data into needs assessments for targeted development. This work underscores how standard metrics overlook equity, informing policies to prevent displacement and support diverse households. Read the full study via the Environment Faculty news.

Photo by Elvis Liang on Unsplash

Combating Financialization: A Four-Pronged Strategy

PhD candidate Cloé St-Hilaire, under Dr. Martine August’s supervision, has illuminated how financialization—the dominance of real estate investment trusts (REITs), pension funds, and asset managers in rentals—fuels the crisis. These entities prioritize investor returns, leading to rent hikes exceeding 30% of income in cities like Toronto and Montreal, higher tenant turnover, and service cuts.

Her proposed solutions include:

• An open lease and property registry for transparency, modeled on Quebec’s Vivre en Ville initiative.
• Expanding public and non-market housing like co-ops with federal support.
• Robust rent controls treating housing as a human right.
• Taxing REITs as corporations to curb profitability.

This research shifts the narrative from supply alone to curbing speculative practices. Details at Waterloo News.

Exposing Rent Hikes by Financial Landlords in Toronto

Building on this, Dr. August and St-Hilaire’s 2025 study in Environment and Planning: Economy and Space used a novel dataset to show financial landlords charge 44% higher rents—$670 more monthly on average—in Toronto, targeting low-income and racialized neighborhoods most aggressively. Absent public data, they merged private sources for unprecedented insights, advocating tenant protections, social housing expansion, and withholding subsidies from affordability-worsening firms.

Dr. Brian Doucet’s Documentary: Rethinking the Crisis

Associate Professor Dr. Brian Doucet’s documentary “Thinking Beyond the Market,” premiered November 2025, spotlights non-market solutions: public land for affordable projects in Kitchener and Whistler, Indigenous-led housing in Vancouver, and strong tenant protections in BC and PEI. Featuring diverse voices, it critiques supply-focused approaches, advocating community-driven change. Doucet, a Canada Research Chair, bridges academia and policy. More at School of Planning news.

Stakeholder Perspectives and Real-World Impacts

Waterloo’s research resonates with policymakers, nonprofits like Habitat, and residents. In Waterloo Region, affordability waitlists have doubled recently, affecting job markets. These studies provide actionable data, influencing municipal plans and federal strategies like the National Housing Strategy.

Challenges persist: regulatory barriers, NIMBYism, and funding gaps. Yet, successes like BUILD NOW demonstrate scalable models.

Photo by Masaru Suzuki on Unsplash

Future Outlook: Policy Recommendations and Higher Ed Roles

Experts foresee gradual improvement by 2026-2030 with targeted builds, but sustained intervention is key. Waterloo recommends equity-focused assessments, anti-financialization measures, and innovative ownership models.

Higher education professionals in planning can drive change—check higher ed career advice for paths in research and academia.

Engaging with Solutions: Opportunities Ahead

University of Waterloo’s contributions offer hope amid crisis. Rate professors shaping policy at Rate My Professor, explore university jobs, or browse faculty positions and research assistant jobs. Post openings at post a job. Together, informed action builds affordable futures.