The annual number of new homes being built in Canada in recent years is virtually the same as it was in the 1970s, despite annual population growth now being three times higher, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.

"Despite unprecedented levels of immigration-driven population growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has failed to ramp up homebuilding sufficiently to meet housing demand," said Steven Globerman, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of The Crisis in Housing Affordability: Population Growth and Housing Starts 1972-2024.

Between 2021 and 2024, Canada's population grew by an average of 859,473 people per year, while only 254,670 new housing units were started annually. From 1972 to 1979, a similar number of new housing units were built 239,458 despite the population only growing by 279,975 people a year.

As a result, more new residents are competing for each new home than in the past, which is driving up housing costs.

"The evidence is clear population growth has been outpacing housing construction for decades, with predictable results," Globerman said.

"Unless there is a substantial acceleration in homebuilding, a slowdown in population growth, or both, Canada's housing affordability crisis is unlikely to improve."

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