Canadians are in the grip of a deepening housing crisis, yet not everyone agrees on what exactly the housing crisis is. The common narrative focuses on an affordability crisis for homeownership, attributed to either excessive demand from immigrants and foreign buyers or a lack of supply.

Canada's housing market is among the most unaffordable, with one of the highest house-price-to-income ratios among OECD member states. Housing prices soared over 355 per cent between 2000 and 2021, while median nominal income increased by only 113 per cent.

But today's housing crisis extends beyond unaffordable homes and supply shortages. It's rooted in a deeply financialized housing system that idealizes homeownership and treats homes as financial assets instead of social goods.

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