Non-market housing has been declining for 30 years: new research

The share of all homes in Canada considered non-market housing peaked in 1996 and has been declining ever since, according to data analysis and research by Steve Pomeroy, executive advisor and industry professor at the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative.  

The report acknowledges that there is no “definitive source of data on the actual scale of [Canada’s] community housing stock.” 

In the absence of this data, Pomeroy has made estimates based on data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and provincial programs. 

He warns that “this methodology generates a highest possible estimate and as such may overstate the scale of the non-market sector.” 

If Canada had maintained annual growth in the supply of non-market housing, the country would have more than one million affordable homes, Pomeroy estimates. 

Last week, Build Canada Homes announced that it would be relying on public lands to fulfil its mandate of developing housing.