The National Housing Strategy (NHS) was enacted in 2017, and its implementation is overseen by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The NHS includes several funding programs for constructing new housing supply, funding for repairing and renewing existing affordable housing, resources for community housing providers, and funding for research and innovation. The NHS is the Government of Canada’s solution to their commitment to reduce the housing needs of 530,000 households across the country by 2028.

As part of the NHS research initiatives, CMHC has published a series of short-term findings in the early years of the Strategy’s implementation. In June 2021, CMHC published “Labour Market Outcomes and Incomes of Households in Core Housing Need”. Using data from the 2016 census, the report looks at the income levels, job industries, and makeup of households in housing need to better understand the core challenges keeping many Canadians from accessing and maintaining stable housing.

Household Income

One of the key findings in the report was that the median household income among those households in core housing need was $23,227. Further, almost 80% of these households were in the lowest income quintile (a total pre-tax household income under $35,808). This suggests that the housing crisis facing Canadians is not simply about creating more housing supply in general, but creating more affordable housing supply. This means developing more affordable apartment buildings over private condominiums, and implementing rent subsidy programs that best suit the needs of local low-income residents. It is vital that local policy makers and housing managers understand the income levels of residents, as well as the financial demands they face, in order to refine housing and subsidy programs to better serve the residents.

For reference, to meet the housing affordability standard (no more than 30% of a household’s income going to housing), a household with the median income of households in core housing need would require a monthly housing cost of no more than $581. However, most households in core housing need face significantly higher rent amounts; on average, close to $900.

Household Makeup

Another key finding in the CMHC report was that the majority of households in core housing need (60%) are single-person or couple-without-children households. Smaller, but still significant, portions of these households were lone-parent (20%) and couple-with-children (15%) households. This again signifies that a clear understanding of the local residents and the makeup of their households is very important in addressing core housing need effectively and efficiently.

For instance, based on the proportion of households in core housing need that are single people or couples without children, 60% of the required affordable housing units would likely need to be bachelors or 1-bedroom units. The remaining 40% of households in core housing need would require 2-bedrooms or more.

Employment Trends

Close to half of the households in core housing need have at least one employed member. Households in core housing need are also more likely to work in industries that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (through shutdowns, reduced business, supply chain issues, etc.), demonstrating that employment for these households can be less stable, and long-term unemployment was likely for them during the pandemic. The NHS has identified that a thorough understanding of how income levels interact with housing stability, and the types of supports required to help households maintain their housing through inconsistent employment periods, are key research objectives.

The top 5 identified work industries among those in core housing need were retail, hospitality, health care and social assistance, construction, and administrative support/waste management/remediation services. Roughly half of the breadwinners in households in core housing need were employed in these sectors, and these industries each saw extensive layoffs throughout the pandemic.

Resources:

• CMHC Socioeconomic Analysis: Labour Market Outcomes and Incomes of Households in Core Housing Need