Canada ranks among the world’s least affordable housing markets, trailing the United States and the United Kingdom.
That finding comes from the 2026 Demographia International Housing Affordability report, released June 11 by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. The report assessed 96 major markets across eight countries using the median multiple – median house price divided by median household income.
A ratio of 3.0 or below is considered affordable. Canada’s national median multiple reached 5.4, placing it in the “severely unaffordable” category.
For context:
- United States: 4.5
- United Kingdom: 5.2
- Canada: 5.4
Canada was also one of only two nations in the study to record no improvement in housing affordability in 2025. Four of the eight countries surveyed posted measurable gains.
Nine quarters of improvement, one stubborn ceiling
The Demographia findings land alongside data that looks, on the surface, more encouraging.
National Bank of Canada’s Housing Affordability Monitor, published May 26, 2026, recorded a ninth consecutive quarterly improvement in Q1 2026 – the longest such streak in Canadian history. The mortgage payment as a percentage of income fell to 52.3 per cent nationally. That is its lowest level in four years.
But that record run, read alongside Demographia, defines the bind brokers are working inside. Affordability is improving by cyclical measures. Canada remains structurally among the least affordable nations in the world.
The National Bank data shows the gaps:
| City | MPPI Q1 2026 | Long-term average | Above average by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 81.9% | 66.1% | +15.8pp |
| Victoria | 74.5% | 59.3% | +15.2pp |
| Toronto | 70.9% | 54.4% | +16.5pp |
| Hamilton | 59.0% | 42.6% | +16.4pp |
| Calgary | 39.3% | 36.3% | +3.0pp |
| Edmonton | 33.3% | 30.2% | +3.1pp |
All six markets remain above their long-term averages. Edmonton and Calgary are the closest to normal, while Vancouver, Toronto, and Victoria remain the most stretched.
Vancouver, Toronto, and the limits of progress
Canada’s affordability problem is sharpest at its two biggest markets.
Vancouver recorded a median multiple of 10.8. That places it among the world’s least affordable major markets, behind only Hong Kong, Sydney, San Jose, and Adelaide.
Toronto recorded 7.6, remaining firmly in the severely unaffordable range.
Edmonton was the outlier. At 3.6, it is Canada’s most affordable major market – and the highest affordability ranking ever achieved by a non-American market in the survey’s 22-year history.
Not a single market among the 96 studied hit Demographia’s affordability benchmark. American cities Cleveland (3.1) and Pittsburgh (3.2) came close.
“Many Canadians assume housing affordability challenges are simply the result of growing cities and strong demand, but the international data tell a different story,” said Wendell Cox, principal author of the report.
“Canada now ranks among the least affordable housing markets in the developed world despite having abundant land and resources. The evidence shows that housing affordability is strongly influenced by policy choices that affect land supply and housing development.”
Policy, not demand
The report pushes back on the idea that Canada’s affordability crisis is primarily a demand problem.
Wendell Cox pointed to restrictive land-use policies – urban growth boundaries, greenbelts, and development constraints – as strongly associated with higher housing costs. The report points to New Zealand as a counterexample: a government that has moved to dismantle policies blamed for restricting land supply.
The downstream effects for brokers are direct. Higher median multiples mean:
- larger required down payments
- higher debt loads for clients entering the market
- reduced labour mobility as households are priced out of employment centres
“The goal should be to restore housing affordability for ordinary households,” Cox said. “The experience of many jurisdictions shows affordability can improve when governments remove barriers to housing supply and allow development to respond to demand.”
What brokers should watch
National Bank’s economists flagged that the improvement streak may face pressure in Q2 2026. Mortgage rates have resumed an upward trend following expectations of tighter monetary policy.
Home prices fell nationally in April 2026 – declining in six of eleven cities – which may partially offset that pressure. But the Demographia data draws a clear line between cyclical relief and structural affordability.
Canada’s nine-quarter improvement streak has brought the mortgage payment-to-income ratio back to 2022 levels. For brokers advising clients in Vancouver and Toronto, the gap between short-term gains and long-term affordability remains the defining challenge of the current market.
CMP
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