Experts say Canada is somehow about to get even less affordable

As most people in Toronto already struggle to afford to keep a roof over their heads as the cost of living continues to surge, financial experts are saying that residents of the city — and Canada as a whole — can only expect things to get worse.

A new report from TD is warning that, at the current rate, housing and other basic costs for both renters and owners are on track to get far higher, which the institution is blaming largely on our current immigration policies.

The document, released Wednesday, notes that Canada’s population has increased by 1.2 million in the last year, which is more than double the expansion we saw in 2019 and in all years prior.

While accepting far more long-term immigrants and non-permanent residents has been “an integral part of Canada’s plan to solve workforce shortages,” the bank’s economists note that “the speed at which it unfolded was not telegraphed.”

“Evaluations of the future housing stock, be it for ownership or rental, were already pointing to worsening affordability across the country even before this sudden influx,” they write.

“If Canada’s population boom continues at its current frantic pace, interest rates will face upward pressure and the massive influx of people will significantly worsen affordability for homebuyers and renters, a new report from TD Bank warns.”

💀💀💀

— Chris Edwards (@chrisb_edwards) July 26, 2023

Even with the push to get more housing built, the study says that a growing housing deficit is creating a “textbook demand shock,” with the shortfall estimated to hit 500,000 units within two years’ time.

This will lead to even more outrageous home prices and a heightened affordability crisis more generally, according to the experts, that strain already over-extended social services like healthcare, as well as infrastructure.

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With this sudden increase in demand for housing, food, and all types of goods and services, interest rates will also likely spike even more as the Bank of Canada seeks to maintain a stable inflationary environment, putting us even further behind the standard-of-living curve.

It’s definitely more than that if you want to live in livable conditions.

— Romit Samarth (@romitsamarth123) July 18, 2023

“While the right hand has been solving for labour market shortfalls, the left hand has not put in place the appropriate infrastructure to absorb this large influx of people, particularly if the intention is for a continuation on a longer-term basis. Policy needs to strike a balance with sustainable growth,” the report cautions.

“The positive support to the labour market and economic growth risks coming at a cost of worsening dislocations in other segments of the economy.”