22% of Canadian households living in unaffordable housing

Recently we reported that many Canadian households live "in core housing need," a situation brought on by severely inadequate Canadian banking and labor policies. But a closer look at the data reveals that even more households live in unaffordable housing.

In fact, the latest numbers published by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation suggests that almost a quarter of all Canadian households live in unaffordable housing situations, spending more than 30% of before-tax income on shelter.

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The data published as part of Statistics Canada's Canadian Housing Survey show that 22% of all Canadian households spend more than 30% of their before-tax income on shelter costs. An astounding figure and a bleak reminder of the dire situation facing many families when it comes to housing.

The numbers get pretty shocking when we dig deeper into this 22% figure. According to the survey, the unaffordable living situation affects 40% of women living alone, 38% of one person households, 38% of households that have experienced homelessness, 35% of men living alone, and 28% of single-parent households.

There are also figures published which measure individuals rather than households. Almost 18% of people surveyed live in unaffordable shelter. It appears that this disproportionately affects immigrants who arrived after 2008 (26%), visible minorities (25%), young adults (17.9%), seniors (17.6%), indigenous people (16.8), and veterans (14.6%).

Don't forget, these figures are from 2018. It's safe to say that, at the time, nearly a quarter of the country was struggling with housing affordability. Since then price on real estate and rent have only increased, and as the pandemic ravages on how many more are likely now struggling?