Ontario building fewer homes today than in 1970s, despite nearly 4 times higher annual population growth

TORONTO—The annual number of new homes being built in Ontario is fewer now than it was in the 1970s, despite annual population growth in the province being nearly four times higher, finds a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.

"Despite unprecedented levels of immigration-driven population growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario has failed to ramp up homebuilding to meet housing demand," said Steven Globerman, co-author of The Crisis in Housing Affordability: Population Growth and Housing Starts 1972–2024.

Between 2022 and 2024, Canada’s population grew by an average of 1,006,142 people per year, while only 249,161 new housing units were started annually. Compare that to the 1970s when from 1972-1976, the population grew by 298,864 a year, and housing starts similarly averaged 249,045 per year.

In Ontario, from 1972-1976, housing starts averaged 92,724 a year while population growth in the province averaged 111,305 a year. From 2022 to 2024, housing starts averaged 86,650—less than in the 1970s—but the province’s population grew by 411,163 people a year, on average.

“The evidence is clear—population growth has been outpacing housing construction for decades, with predictable results,” Globerman said.

“Unless there is a substantial acceleration in homebuilding, a slowdown in population growth, or both, Ontario’s housing affordability crisis is unlikely to improve.”

Media Contact:
Steven Globerman, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

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