AN UPHILL BATTLE: HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA AND QUEBEC AND ITS LIKELY IMPACT ON THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING COMMUNITY OF QUEBEC
Homelessness and the housing crisis, two deeply interconnected social issues, are central concerns for contemporary Canadian policymakers. Housing affordability, defined by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Company as the ratio of average housing costs to after-tax income, continues to worsen.
In 2021, households buying average-priced homes in B.C. and Ontario spent 60 per cent of their income, and their counterparts in Quebec, 40 per cent of their income, with a national average of 4per cent. Structural conditions of low supply and cheap credit, coupled with high immigration, have exacerbated the crisis. To restore affordability, an additional 3.5 million affordable housing units are needed by 2030. Despite economic events like COVID-19 and rising interest rates, the housing bubble continues to grow. To tackle the crisis, the current Liberal government has launched initiatives like the Housing Accelerator Fund and removed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on new rental constructions. However, increasing production costs and higher interest rates have compounded the difficulty of constructing new housing units. Policies have yet to make a significant impact on the crisis, rooted in cuts to social housing programs and a focus on building condos over affordable housing.