Ontario needs to add 1 million new homes over next decade to keep up with population growth, report says
CBC
Ontario needs to add one million homes over the next decade to keep up with population growth and address the snowballing supply gap that's already resulting in young families struggling to find a home, according to new research.
It will be a "monumental challenge" to build this much housing, said report author Mike Moffatt, senior director of policy at the Smart Prosperity Institute, a think tank in Ottawa.
He estimates in a typical year, about 70,000 units of all types are added, from detached houses to condominiums to purpose-built rentals to subsidized units. That number will have to increase to 100,000 to accommodate the expected 2.27 million more people who will live in Ontario by 2031.
"We have never built, at least in my lifetime, at that level in Ontario," Moffatt said in an interview.
"If we're not able to build these homes, it's more people living in tents, getting evicted from parks. It's more families having to drive further and further away from Toronto, further away from their jobs in order to afford a home. It's more people moving to other provinces. It's us losing talent from around the world."
Moffatt estimates the province is currently short nearly 65,000 homes, based on recent population growth, and the number of housing that was actually built in recent years. He expects 911,000 more families will be formed in the next 10 years, according to Ministry of Finance projections.
One million homes would fill the current gap and ensure both existing and new families have a place to live, Moffatt said. Demand will be particularly intense for "family-friendly" homes, where young couples have space to raise one or more children — a trend that's already manifesting, he noted.