The dream of homeownership is slipping further and further away for many Canadians.
A recent Ipsos poll shows that 80% now believe that owning a home in Canada is “only for the rich,” an increase of 11% since a similar poll conducted in March 2023.
These findings come as the Liberal government released its 2024 federal budget earlier this month, announcing $111.2 billion in new spending over the next five years, resulting in a $40 billion deficit with no strategy to balance the budget.
The budget, however, did not ease Canadians’ sentiment towards housing, despite the billions the Liberals pledged to throw towards housing.
The Ipsos poll, conducted a day or two after the budget’s release, showed that 23% of Canadians felt that the government is doing enough to address the housing affordability issue in Canada, a decrease of 4% since March 2023.
This number aligns closely with the mere 21% of Canadians who support the federal budget.
Ipsos’ recent poll mirrors a CIBC poll from earlier in April, where 76% of Canadians said that entry to the housing market felt out of reach.
Seventy-two percent of respondents said that they have given up on ever owning a home, an increase of 9% since March 2023.
True North previously reported on a similar poll conducted by Ipsos in 2022, where 63% of non-homeowners in Canada had given up on ever owning a home.
The numbers have worsened in every category year-over-year for Canadians, with less feeling secure in non-homeownership.
Seventy-one percent of Canadians said it is possible to be financially secure and not own a home, a decrease of 9% since March 2023.
True North previously reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to build almost four million new homes by 2031 would require 1.096 houses built every minute in Canada. Canada would have to build 1.096 houses per minute for the next seven years without missing a minute.
The plan promised in the budget includes 2 million net new homes on top of the 1.87 million homes expected to be built by 2031.
Based on the current average of housing starts, the Liberals will fail to accomplish their initial goal of 1.87 million new homes to be built by 2031, let alone the 2 million new homes additionally promised.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre rebuked Trudeau’s promise.
“Everything he’s spending on has gotten worse. He promised that the deficits would make housing affordable, but it ended up doubling the cost of rent and mortgage payments and down payments to buy a house,” said Poilievre.
Based on Ipsos’ recent poll, 52% of Canadians expect that not enough housing will be built in Canada to keep up with demand, an increase of 16% since March 2023. Fifty-eight percent feel that average home prices will increase, rising 23% since March 2023.
The majority of Canadians feel that prices will increase, which may be the reason why so many Canadians don’t want to sell their homes.
Only 4% of Canadians said they were very likely to sell their home, with 12% saying they were somewhat likely. 84% of Canadians said they were not very or not at all likely to sell their homes.
As for the problems at the root of the housing crisis, many Canadians pointed towards the government’s record-high immigration levels. Fifty percent of Canadians feel that immigration will continue to drive high demand for real estate, an increase of 16% since March 2023.
True North previously reported 2.2 million people enter Canada per year, far more than the 500,000 permanent residents that many Canadians believe it to be.