TORONTO: The infographic on the right details the realities of Ontario’s housing crisis. But how did we get here? To start, building housing takes too long and costs too much.
There are red tape, unexpected changes and government fees that add years of paperwork and can also contribute tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of an average home.
These layers of regulation and “not-in-my-backyard” attitudes make it hard to build different kinds of homes – the townhomes, mid-rises, and family-sized apartments that the people need.
Meanwhile, rents skyrocket because it is difficult and costly to build new rentals and to be a landlord.
The province doesn’t build housing, but we can cut red tape to create conditions that make it easier to build housing and introduce policies that encourage densification. We can also make the most of infrastructure investments and encourage more density around major transit stations.
We can do all these things while maintaining important protections for existing residents of stable communities, a vibrant agricultural sector, employment lands, the Greenbelt, our cultural heritage and the environment.
Source: Data from Statistics Canada, Canadian Real Estate Association, PadMapper, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, RESCON: Streamlining the Development and Building Approvals Process in Ontario, July 2018 and BILD: Build for Growth in Toronto.
1. Estimates based on Statistics Canada (household incomes), Bank of Canada (mortgage rate), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (apartment rents and mortgage insurance rate) and Canadian Real Estate Association (resale home prices).
2. Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area on average 2014-18.
3. Asking (median) rents for two-bedroom apartments as of February 2019.
4. After-tax (median) household incomes 2008-17.
5. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 2018 Rental Market Survey – Courtesy: Ontario.ca
