Will renters influence housing policy through the upcoming elections?

Ownership is an ever-distant dream for a significant number of Canadians, industry observer says.

Future housing policy might be in the hands of Canada’s renters considering that most of the eligible voters in the largest provinces are not homeowners, according to an analysis by real estate think-tank Better Dwelling.

Citing data from Elections Canada and Statistics Canada, Better Dwelling said the assumption that Canada is a nation of homeowners might be true only at the national level.

“As it takes longer and longer to save, young people end up renting much longer,” Better Dwelling said. “This is especially true in expensive provinces like BC and Ontario. It’s not a new issue either; it was present during the last election.”

During the 2019 federal elections, BC had 3.76 million eligible voters, with an estimated 63% not residing in their own homes. The largest non-owner population was in the 18-34 age range, with 89.6% (or approximately 830,000 voters) saying that they were renting.

Approximately 63% of the province’s middle-aged voters (35-54 years old) did not own homes at the time, representing 720,000 eligible voters. Among those 55 years old and older, 47.8% were renting, representing 760,000 eligible voters.

The disparity was even more pronounced in Ontario, which had 10.47 million eligible voters in the 2019 elections – 64% of whom were renters at the time. Non-homeowners represented 88.6% of Ontarians aged 18-34 (almost 2.48 million eligible voters), and 59.2% of those aged 35-54 (approximately 2 million voters).

Among Ontario’s elderly, 52.1% said that they were not residing in their own homes, amounting to another 2.23 million eligible voters.

MBN

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