Check out our infographic on affordable housing in Canada (click image to view full size in pdf).
And there's more info in articles on the need for affordable housing in Canada and what the shortage looks like.
*Please note: the shelter bed vs. affordable housing costs for Toronto represent the municipal costs only.
**The original version of this infographic incorrectly stated the cost for keeping someone on the street was $48,000 instead of $40,000. Our apologies for this error. The infographic has been corrected and updated to indicate that this figure comes from a study in Vancouver.
**The assertion that Canada is the only G8 country without a plan is under dispute. Some questions whether federal policies in Germany, Italy, Japan are, in fact, national housing plans.
Sources:
1Homelessness & housing need in Canada:
Defining and enumerating homelessness in Canada. Library of Parliament. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0830-e.htm
Housing conditions and core housing need. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
2 Affordable housing waitlists & average rents:
Waitlists for affordable housing data:
- Vancouver: BC Housing
- Calgary: City of Calgary
- Yellowknife: YWCA Yellowknife
- Toronto: Housing Connections (http://www.housingconnections.ca/pdf/MonthlyReports/2012/Monthly%20Repor...)
- Iqaluit: Iqaluit Public Housing Authority
- Montreal: Office municipal d'habitation de Montreal
- Halifax: Metro Regional Housing Authority
- St. John's: City of St. John's, Non-Profit Housing Division
Rental market report: Canada highlights. CMHC. http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/esub/64667/64667_2012_B02.pdf?fr=135715...
3Federal housing investments:
A budget for the rest of us: Alternative federal budget 2012. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publication...
4Housing vs. alternatives:
The Cost of Homelessness: Analysis of Alternate Responses in Four Canadian Cities. Steve Pomeroy.
The blueprint to end homelessness in Toronto. Wellesley Institute. http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/TheBlueprin...
In from the margins: A call to action on poverty, housing and homelessness. The Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/402/citi/rep/rep02dec09-e.pd...
[The impact of housing investments on GDP]: Canada’s Economic Action Plan: a 6th report to Canadians (September 2010), p. 142. Government of Canada http://www.fin.gc.ca/pub/report-rapport/2010-09-27/pdf/ceap-paec-2010-09...
The real cost of homelessness. Stephen Gaetz.