Subsidized Housing: The Panacea to Canada's Housing Affordability Crisis?

Abstract

Although increasing subsidized housing has been proposed as a solution to Canada's housing affordability crisis, few studies have investigated how access to subsidized housing affects the housing circumstances of Canadians. Using microdata from the 2021 Canadian Census, we compare children's odds of having unaffordable, overcrowded, and inadequate housing by residence in subsidized housing and family structure. For children in two-parent families, living in subsidized housing is associated with lower odds of having unaffordable housing but higher odds of having inadequate and overcrowded housing. For all others, living in subsidized housing is associated with lower odds of having unaffordable, inadequate, and overcrowded housing. Our findings underscore the importance of increasing subsidized housing, building units that can better meet the housing needs of those with housing vulnerability, and targeting those with the most unmet needs in alleviating Canada's housing affordability crisis.