OTTAWA — The alarm bells are becoming bull horns: Canada's housing supply isn't keeping up with the rapid rate of population growth.
Academics, commercial banks and policy thinkers have all been warning the federal government that the pace of population growth, facilitated by immigration, is making the housing crisis worse.
"Looking at the levels that we have recently approved as a cabinet as a government, we can't afford currently to reduce those numbers," Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in an interview with The Canadian Press. The federal government's latest immigration levels plan, released last fall, would see Canada welcome 500,000 immigrants annually by 2025.Although the half-million figure has caught considerable attention, it's not just higher immigration targets that are driving the surge in population.
Earlier this year, hundreds of people were suspected of being caught in a fraud scheme that saw immigration agents issue fake acceptance letters to get students into Canada.The increased scrutiny of Canada's immigration policies and population growth comes as the country faces a housing affordability crisis caused in large part by a shortage of homes.
BMO published an analysis in May that estimated that for every one per cent of population growth, housing prices rise by three per cent. "But it does mean that they're going to have to get very bold on housing," said Moffatt, an assistant professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ont.
"They also see the downside, which is putting further pressure on the housing market and pressure on health care."
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