Beyond averages: The latest Canadian Housing Survey shows that many renters are still struggling

The big picture

The latest data from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Housing Survey (CHS), released on September 21, 2026, suggests that the improvement in the rental market over the past few years is not filtering down, at least not fast or deep enough, to people with low incomes.

The new CHS data shows that:

• Overall, Canada’s rate of core housing need is stuck at a high level, with renter households more likely to experience core housing need compared to owner households.
• Core housing need is not just a problem for renters who pay market rates – even households who live in social and affordable housing are struggling to find housing that meets their needs.
• Provincial rates of core housing need among renter households are changing, with renters living in Saskatchewan seeing the biggest jump from 2022 to 2024.
• Many equity-deserving individuals and communities continue to be disproportionately in housing need compared to the rest of the population, especially Indigenous households.
• Affordability remains a key challenge for renters, including many renters living in social and affordable housing.

These trends are taking place against a backdrop of record-high homelessness rates, with at least 65,000 people having experienced homelessness on a single night in 2025 across communities in Canada. 

The data, housing need metrics, and why they matter

Conducted every two years, the CHS collects more in-depth and frequent information about the housing experiences of a sample of households living in the provinces than the Census does. Our analysis relies on the public data tables released by Statistics Canada and CMHC.

The data from this cycle of the CHS was collected between October 2024 and March 2025, which we refer to as having occurred in 2024. Although some time has passed since then, the most recent evidence suggests that the situation has not improved for those at the low end of the rental market. Moreover, the 2024 CHS data tells an important story about people’s housing experiences in a post-COVID world and provides insights into how investments in previous National Housing Strategy (NHS) initiatives worked – or failed to work – for renters.

A key focus of both the 2024 CHS and our analysis is core housing need. For context, being in core housing need means that a family’s housing is considered unaffordable, unsuitable, inadequate, or a combination of these factors. More specifically, housing is unaffordable if it costs 30 per cent or more of the household’s income, unsuitable if there aren’t enough rooms for the number of people in the home, and inadequate if it’s in need of major repairs. Only people who live in one of these situations and do not have other housing available in their area that meets these conditions are considered in core housing need.

While imperfect, core housing need and its elements help us understand the kinds of housing challenges people with low incomes are facing, and whether these challenges are improving. Importantly, removing families from core housing need is supposed to be one of the main goals of the government’s NHS:

Our analysis of the CHS data examines core housing need trends, with a specific emphasis on renters, broken down by type of rental housing situation, where possible (note: Figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point). This focus is consistent with the government’s commitments under the National Housing Strategy Act, 2019, which require the creation of a National Housing Strategy that focuses on improving housing outcomes for people in greatest need.   

Nationally, core housing need among renters remains high

Just over 1 in 10, or 1.8 million, households experienced core housing need in 2024.

Despite historically large investments made through the NHS to address housing affordability, especially for renters, overall core housing need has not changed much since the CHS began measuring it in 2018. As Maytree has pointed out, the only time over the past few years in which core housing need significantly dropped was during the pandemic, when the combination of emergency income support and rent freezes temporarily improved the situation for low-income households. This suggests Canada’s housing policy response to date is ineffective, underfunded, or both.

This is specifically the case for renter households. As shown in Figure 1, the proportion of renter households in core housing need remained high in 2024 at 22 per cent, the same as it was in 2022. The proportion of owner households experiencing core housing need decreased slightly, from 6.1 to 5.7 per cent, a difference that is not statistically significant given the survey coverage.

Core housing need is a problem for renters in all types of housing

In the CHS, social and affordable housing refers to non-market rental housing, where housing allocation and rent-setting mechanisms are not entirely dictated by the market. One might assume that core housing need would be lower among renters living in these units, because, presumably, their affordability needs should be better addressed through the type of unit they occupy. Yet, in 2024, as shown in Figure 1, 33 per cent of renter households living in social and affordable housing experienced core housing need, compared to 21 per cent of renter households living in market housing. This trend is largely consistent with the 2022 CHS. 

According to the 2024 CHS, 690,500 households lived in social and affordable housing in 2024, representing just 4 per cent of all households in Canada. Demand continues to exceed the stock of this housing available. In 2024, 301,000 households in Canada had at least one member on a waitlist for social and affordable housing, with nearly 60 per cent waiting for more than two years. This is up from the 2022 CHS, when it was reported that 245,900 households had at least one member on a social and affordable housing waitlist.

The situation of renters in market housing and renters in social and affordable housing is not directly comparable. The range of incomes of those living in market housing is much larger, encompassing renters with high incomes, while access to social and affordable housing is often restricted to those under a particular income threshold. Higher rates of core housing need among renters in social and affordable housing are also due to more units being in need of major repairs even when the affordability threshold is met.

Figure 1: Share of households living in core housing need, by tenure, Canada

Source: Statistics Canada Table 46-10-0085-01. Core housing need, by tenure including first-time homebuyer and social and affordable housing status.

Trends across and within provinces show that housing need is a challenge for renters across Canada

In all but three provinces, core housing need increased among renter households from 2022 to 2024 (see Figure 2). The greatest increases were experienced in Saskatchewan (from 20 to 29 per cent), Prince Edward Island (from 12 to 16 per cent), Quebec (from 9 to 14 per cent), and Alberta (from 22 to 26 per cent).

New Brunswick and Manitoba saw slight increases. British Columbia maintained the same rate of core housing need among renter households at 29 per cent in 2024.

In contrast, Newfoundland and Labrador saw a drop in core housing need among renter households, from 25 to 18 per cent. Renters in Nova Scotia and Ontario also experienced slight declines.

These trends suggest that the experiences of renters may be changing across the provinces.

Figure 2: Share of renter households living in core housing need, Canada and the provinces

Source: Statistics Canada Table 46-10-0085-01. Core housing need, by tenure including first-time homebuyer and social and affordable housing status.

Figure 3 takes a closer look at select census metropolitan areas (CMAs) within the provinces, which tells us more about what might be influencing provincial trends.

In Ontario, for example, it appears that the decrease in renter household core housing need from 2022 to 2024 may have been driven by decreases in Toronto, Hamilton, and London. In contrast, among renter households living in Ottawa-Gatineau, there was no change in the proportion of households experiencing core housing need. Meanwhile, the rate of renter household core housing need in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo increased.

The increase in renter households living in core housing need in Saskatchewan between 2022 and 2024 was likely driven by the substantial jump seen in Saskatoon and Regina, where it grew from 16 to 29 per cent and from 23 to 35 per cent, respectively. Additionally, Alberta’s jump in renter household core housing need was likely driven by Calgary, where it increased from 20 to 32 per cent.

Overall, the CMAs with the highest rates of core housing need among renter households were Regina (35 per cent), Calgary (32 per cent), Vancouver (31 per cent), and Winnipeg (30 per cent). This contrasts to 2022, where the CMAs with the highest rates were Toronto (32 per cent) and Vancouver (29 per cent). These trends suggest that core housing need is not just a challenge for renters living in bigger cities.

Figure 3: Share of renter households living in core housing need, by select CMA

Source: Statistics Canada Table 46-10-0085-01. Core housing need, by tenure including first-time homebuyer and social and affordable housing status.

Many equity-deserving populations continue to experience high rates of core housing need

Though not reported on by tenure status in the public data tables, the 2024 CHS also provides important information about overall core housing need among many equity-deserving populations.

As illustrated in Figure 4, the overall core housing need rate remained high among these communities in 2024.

Roughly 14 per cent of people in racialized households experienced core housing need, compared to 11 per cent of people in non-racialized households. Of particular note is the growing gap between the experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous households – in 2024, 20 per cent of households who identified as Indigenous were in core housing need, up from 18 per cent in 2022 and 16 per cent in 2018, compared to a steady 11 per cent of households who did not identify as Indigenous.

Figure 4: Share of individuals from select equity-deserving groups in core housing need, Canada

Source: CMHC Tables 12 and 13 – number and percentage of households in core housing need by Indigenous identity and racialized groups (referred to a “visible minority” in the survey), adapted from Canadian Housing Survey, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024 (Statistics Canada). CMHC data for racialized and non-racialized populations are not available for 2018.

Figure 5 turns to household structure, showing that one-person households (20 per cent) and one-parent households (19 per cent) continued to experience the highest rates of core housing need among all household types in 2024.

This finding is not surprising, since these families can have the same housing needs as others, but aren’t able to benefit from the economies of scale that come with having more than one income in the household. It’s also consistent with national poverty data, which shows that working-age unattached single individuals and single parents (especially those led by women) have the highest rates of poverty in Canada. 

Figure 5: Share of households in core housing need by family structure, Canada

Source: CMHC Table 16 – number and percentage of households in core housing need by select characteristics, adapted from Canadian Housing Survey, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024 (Statistics Canada).

Core housing need hides affordability problems

Core housing need statistics, as a composite housing need indicator, show the combined impact of experiencing one or more housing challenges related to affordability, suitability, and adequacy. While looking at these statistics as a whole is important, they don’t tell us which specific housing challenge people are experiencing.  

In 2024, as with previous CHS cycles, most households fell into core housing need because they spent too much of their income on housing. The CHS results show that 86 per cent of households in core housing need had an affordability challenge, and for 71 per cent this was the only reason they were in core housing need.

Figure 6 shows that renter households (34 per cent) continued to be twice as likely to live in unaffordable housing as owners (17 per cent), a trend that has been stable since the first CHS in 2018. Renter households living in market housing faced the highest rates of unaffordable housing and these households also reported the highest levels of dissatisfaction in meeting their housing affordability needs.

But it is important to note that there is a major challenge with the way core housing need measures affordability. A household is only considered to be in core housing need for an affordability challenge if both their shelter costs and the median local rent are 30 per cent or more of their income, conditional on the unit needed for the size of the household. This makes some sense for owners and higher-income renters, who may make the choice to spend more on housing. However, in areas where there are significant gaps between the average market rent (which includes rent for both sitting and new tenants) and the asking rent – often due to rent decontrol upon vacancy – units at median market rent are often impossible for many renters to obtain. Therefore, the share of renters in market housing paying 30 per cent or more of their income on rent significantly exceeds the share classified as being in core housing need.

Figure 6: Share of households living in unaffordable housing, by tenure, Canada

Source: Statistics Canada – Table 1 Share of households that spent 30% or more of their household income on shelter costs, Canada, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024.

An increasing proportion of renter households living in social and affordable housing are facing an affordability challenge, with 32 per cent of households living in unaffordable housing in 2024. This represents a 6-percentage-point increase since 2022.

This challenge seems most pronounced in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. In Alberta, for example, 50 per cent of renter households living in social and affordable housing experienced core housing need, while in Saskatchewan, 45 per cent were in core housing need, with 85 per cent of them in core housing need because of affordability alone. Since the intent of social and affordable housing is to provide housing at rates that are more affordable to renters based on their income level, these statistics should be alarming to policymakers.

Given the broad definition of housing that can be included in this category, it’s not clear what is driving this trend. One possible reason could be that there are more units being created in the general non-market sector where the definition for affordability is not deep enough for low-income households. For example, NHS initiatives like the Affordable Housing Fund and the Apartment Construction Loan Program created a broad range of units, including some that could have been considered affordable, but were not actually for the incomes of tenants.

In the next NHS, the federal government should ensure that units meant to be affordable are affordable to people with the lowest incomes. While other housing supply initiatives are also important, these should not be considered a form of deeply affordable housing. Moreover, the CHS data suggests that social housing must continue to play an important role in the housing continuum, since rents are geared to tenants’ incomes. We should not wait for affordability to trickle down to help these households. 

New Canada Housing Survey questions provide further insight into how renters are faring

New questions in the 2024 CHS illustrate how the private rental market can be experienced differently depending on the specific circumstances of the renter.

For example, according to Statistics Canada, the 2024 CHS shows that new renters living in market housing continue to face higher costs compared to sitting tenants, likely due to lacking vacancy control measures. They report that the average monthly rent for recent movers who had moved within the last two years was $1,740 in 2024, compared to $1,290 for market renters who had occupied their dwelling for two or more years. Recent movers were also more likely to report financial difficulty due to increased rents and dissatisfaction with the affordability of their housing.

Another key difference illustrated in the 2024 CHS is the experiences of renters living in the primary rental market (i.e., purpose-built rental housing) compared to renters living in the secondary rental market (e.g., single-detached houses and rented condos). According to CMHC analysis, 23 per cent of renter households living in the primary rental market experienced core housing need, compared to 18 per cent of renter households living in the secondary rental market. The suitability of their housing (number of bedrooms relative to number of people) was a driving factor between these differing housing need statistics, and people in the primary market had incomes that were $12,000 per year lower, on average, than those renting in the secondary market.

Beyond affordability, CMHC analysis indicates that renters want larger housing. This suggests that overcrowded housing is more of a risk for renters, especially those living in core housing need.

What the Canadian Housing Survey leaves out: Homelessness remains high

The CHS collects information from people who are housed. Those experiencing homelessness at the time of the survey are not included. While the CHS does include questions related to past experiences with homelessness, the 2024 data from these questions is not yet publicly available.

Counterintuitively, the CHS methodology means that the rate of core housing need improves with each person who leaves unaffordable housing for homelessness. We must, therefore, consider CHS data in the context of what we know about homelessness in Canada.

Our best source of longitudinal homelessness data at a national level comes from Everyone Counts 2025: Results from the Annual Enumeration of Homelessness. In 2025, roughly 65,000 people across 75 communities experienced homelessness in a single night – 7 per cent were living in encampments, 20 per cent in outdoor locations, 56 per cent in emergency and domestic violence shelters, and 17 per cent in transitional shelters.

Comparing the 72 communities that have participated in all three cycles of point-in-time counts, the one-night enumeration in 2025 is up 59 per cent compared to the 2020-2022 cycle, with unsheltered homelessness having doubled in that time. However, the overall data is essentially unchanged since the 2023-24 cycle, suggesting total homelessness did not significantly increase nor decrease in the previous year, but remains stuck at record highs.

Of course, as with the CHS, this overall stability in the data masks considerable variability by community. Nearly 60 per cent of communities reported an increase in homelessness since the 2023-24 point-in-time count. Importantly, among those communities that are reporting a large decrease in homelessness, common factors are an increased supply of long-term supportive housing, reclassification of transitional housing programs as long-term supportive housing, and successful implementation of community encampment response protocols.

Most people who are unhoused simply do not have enough income to afford a place to live. Too little income is the most cited reason people become homeless, and having more income is the most cited reason people exit homelessness. If we’re serious about addressing homelessness, the path will be through a more robust income security system coupled with housing supply programs that produce deeply affordable units at scale.

What this means for the next National Housing Strategy

Almost 9 in 10 renters live in market housing, where asking rents have climbed significantly since the pandemic. The effects are visible in communities from coast to coast. The latest data shows the high rate of homelessness is showing no signs of abating, and social and affordable housing waitlists continue to swell.

To improve affordability, governments across Canada have focused on increasing the supply of market rental housing based on the belief that more of it will eventually drive down rents for everyone.

The latest CHS data shows this is not working, at least not on any reasonable timescale. Rents are simply out of reach for people with low incomes, and the NHS has not been moving the needle fast enough on core housing need. We must learn from the existing NHS and embrace bold new approaches in the next one.  

This begins with a basic truth: Private developers build housing that can generate a financial return. Without public investment and affordability requirements, there is little reason to expect new market housing to offer rents that people with the lowest incomes can afford. Governments need to take direct responsibility for closing the affordability gap.

Build Canada Homes must be part of that response, with clear targets to deliver homes affordable to people in greatest need. Its success should be measured by who can afford the housing that is built and how long that affordability is protected.

Meanwhile, the federal government must protect and expand funding for social and affordable housing. Long-term predictability is needed to keep homes in good repair, sustain operations, and maintain rents that tenants can afford. Allowing existing programs to lapse would put more households at risk.

Market renters also need immediate support. It will take time to build large quantities of deeply affordable housing, leaving income support as the only way to turn the tide of homelessness in the short term. Maytree’s proposed Canada Renters Credit would complement this support by providing a broad income floor for renters with low incomes, while enabling a strengthened Canada Housing Benefit to focus on people experiencing homelessness or at greatest risk of losing their homes. Together, these measures would help address the gap between incomes and housing costs.

Stronger tenant protections are also essential. The federal government should recommit to the Renters’ Bill of Rights and set out clear implementation plans with provinces and territories. This work should advance stronger rent regulations, protections against unfair eviction, and accessible ways for tenants to enforce their rights.

Finally, a housing strategy grounded in human rights must include outcome metrics, goals, and timelines that would see Canada progressively realize the right to adequate housing for everyone. This must include a plan for ending homelessness – the greatest of all housing rights violations – backed by sufficient funding and public reporting.

The latest data from the CHS shows how far we remain from ensuring everyone has a home they can afford. Governments must apply the lessons of the past decade now, with sustained investment in affordable housing, adequate income supports, and stronger protections for renters.