Housing affordability pressures have eased across Canada since hitting historic lows in 2023, but remain near record highs in several major urban centres, according to a new index released recently by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The federal housing agency said its newly released Housing Affordability Composite Index shows that while national conditions have improved, cities including Ottawa, Montréal and Halifax continue to face significant affordability strain, underscoring that challenges extend beyond Toronto and Vancouver.
New composite index broadens affordability lens
CMHC said its index adds to existing measures of housing affordability, many of which focus on a single indicator or only on homeownership. The agency said those approaches can overlook rental housing and the interactions between rental and ownership markets.
Combined with CMHC’s market intelligence, the index is intended to provide a broader assessment of affordability, including whether incomes are keeping pace with housing costs, whether supply is sufficient to meet demand, and whether households have income remaining after paying for essential expenses.
The agency said the index is designed to provide additional insight into how affordability pressures are distributed across the country and to help identify where pressures are strongest and what types of housing are needed.
Affordability stabilizing for renters, improving for buyers
Mathieu Laberge
CMHC’s chief economist said the data show modest improvement since conditions reached historic lows two years ago.
“Affordability started recovering slightly since 2023, when it reached historical lows. For homeownership, we observed improved affordability, while for renters we saw stabilization over the last two years,” said Mathieu Laberge, Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President Housing Insights. “Even with these improvements, we cannot overlook how much housing affordability has eroded in recent years, especially in Ottawa, Montréal and Halifax, clearly demonstrating that Canada’s housing affordability crisis is no longer limited to Toronto and Vancouver.”
The agency said the findings reinforce that affordability pressures are not confined to the country’s largest and traditionally most expensive housing markets.
Seven major centres analyzed
The index examines housing affordability trends in seven major centres:
Vancouver
Edmonton
Calgary
Toronto
Ottawa
Montréal
Halifax
CMHC said the index will be updated regularly.
The full analysis is available on CMHC’s website in a report titled Beyond Toronto and Vancouver: Affordability challenges spread across Canadian cities.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024, 2025 and 2026.
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