Fraser Institute News Release: Housing starts unchanged since 1970s, while Canadian population growth has more than tripled

VANCOUVER, BC, April 15, 2025 /CNW/ - 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 today 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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About Fraser Institute

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org

SOURCE The Fraser Institute

MEDIA CONTACT: Steven Globerman, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute; To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Emily Rigden, [phone] ext. 620, [email protected]