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Housing Abroad: Canada

Canada is a mostly urban nation, with 80% of its 34 million people living in urban areas as of 2011. About 39% of Canadians live in Ontario, the largest province; and one third live in the three largest metropolitan areas, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. In recent years, two thirds of national population growth has been due to immigration, especially from East and South Asia. Immigrants make up about one fifth of population in urban areas and almost half of the population of Toronto.

It is natural for Canadians to compare their housing scene with that in the United States, and the reverse should also be true. Such similarities challenge assumptions about American exceptionalism, while subtle differences raise questions about how current conditions, including high levels of home-ownership, should be understood.

Types and Styles of Housing

In Canada the most common form, and for most people the ideal type, of dwelling is single-family detached. In 2001, this type of housing accounted for 55% of all urban dwellings. With higher land prices, urban areas have proportionately more row and multi-unit dwellings, particularly in the largest cities. Hemmed in by water on three sides, Vancouver's West End has been one of North America's most densely occupied neighborhoods since the 1970s. Since the 1980s, offshore investment has raised densities in other Vancouver neighborhoods, in part through construction of “monster homes,” or “McMansions.” Since the mid-1990s, Toronto has seen a boom in condominiums, also fueled by Chinese investment. In the late 2000s, almost half of all new starts in Toronto were high-rise condominiums. These have transformed the downtown skyline, creating a critical mass for new urban lifestyles and then reshaping older suburbs. Most occupants are singles or young couples; two fifths of Toronto's recent condominium residents have been single women. It is unclear whether they will follow earlier generations into lower density suburbs or fashion a new lifestyle with or without children. Even if they move to the suburbs, they will live at higher densities and are more likely to occupy attached dwellings. Since the 1970s, the average size of new dwellings has increased from 1,100 to 1,700 square feet, while lot sizes have grown smaller. This trend has been driven by rising land prices and encouraged by municipal planners.

For all dwelling types except the high-rise, preferred styles have evolved steadily. Until the mid-20th century, Canadians favored British (Victorian gothic, Scottish baronial, and Tudor) or American (bungalow and ranch) styles. From the 1950s to the 1970s, a moderate modernism meant large windows, new materials, and minimal decoration. Since the 1970s, a neo-traditional revival favored French mansard roofs, then Gothic, neoclassical, and eclectic mixtures. These now dominate the suburban scene, taking a pure form in a few new urbanist subdivisions, while looking anomalous on the more typical garage-fronted houses.

Housing Conditions

Housing is a basic need everywhere but especially in Canada. Most cities lie close to the 49th parallel and experience a continental climate that includes several months where nighttime (and often daytime) temperatures are below freezing. A well-built, and insulated, dwelling is a requirement. Fortunately, the great majority of Canadians occupy housing that is more than adequate in terms of interior space and construction quality, as well as in the availability of utilities and basic appliances. In cities, this is partly because most dwellings are comparatively new. In 2006, 88% of the housing stock had been built since 1946. In the mid-2000s, about 4% of households occupied housing that was inadequate (needing major improvements), and a similar proportion lived in units that were unsuitable for their needs, usually because the unit was too small. Regarding afford-ability, in the late 2000s, 21% of households spent more than 30% of their before-tax income on housing, the common affordability cutoff. About 14% of households were in core housing need, occupying dwellings that were unaffordable, inadequate, and inappropriate. Of these, about one third had been in core need for 3 or more years.

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