Advocates like Dobrusin say Canadians shut out of the country's tight housing market may be more likely to consider organizing as a way to push for solutions to the housing crisis.
Rents have been steadily increasing nationally since 2021 and hit a record-high last month. According to real estate research firm Urbanation, average asking rents nationally sat at $2,042 in June, passing the previous record set in November 2022. that from 2019 to 2021, housing stock growth outpaced population growth in Toronto and Vancouver, two of the hottest markets in the country.. It projects almost 19 million housing units will be added to the market by 2030 — but that's3.5 million units short of achieving "housing affordability for everyone living in Canada."
"The pattern of development has gone where the highest rate of return is," said Rowe, pointing to a push toward single-family and detached homes when private developer housing took off. That mainly started afterIt left a real deficit in affordable, family and supportive housing, along with different types of rental and ownership schemes such as co-ops, rent-to-own and shared ownership, she said.
While there may be an appetite for change, it's not easily tapped into — both for residents and those looking to organize.