Janet Robertson had few choices after being evicted from her apartment of two decades in Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive city.
Even listings in nearby suburbs were out of reach after years of paying 900 Canadian dollars, or $650, monthly for her studio apartment. She kept going until she could find something she could afford and ended up renting in a town about 60 miles east of Vancouver.
“I really didn’t have any other options but to come to Chilliwack,” Ms. Robertson said.
Chilliwack, a farming community encircled by snow-capped peaks, was once looked down on by city dwellers because of its rural and isolated character. Now, it has become a magnet for people from Vancouver who can no longer afford living there.
Across Canada’s urban centers, climbing housing prices are pushing renters out and making buying a home a distant dream, especially for first-time buyers. The housing problem, which many in Canada describe as a full-blown crisis, is a top concern for voters heading to the polls to cast ballots in national elections.
Canada’s urban centers and, increasingly, its suburbs are now on lists of the most expensive places in the world to find a home.
In Toronto, the standard price for a single-family home, according to an index used by Canadian real estate agents to compare home sales, is around 1.4 million Canadian dollars, about $1 million, compared with 970,000 dollars, or $700,000, in 2020.
In Vancouver, the standard price is even higher, roughly two million dollars ($1.5 million) compared with 1.4 million ($1 million) five years ago.
The average rent in Vancouver is about 2,500 Canadian dollars per month, or $1,800, requiring a low six-figure salary to be considered affordable, according to Canada’s national housing agency.
While high living costs have become a source of concern in wealthy countries around the world, in Canada, many voters blame the ruling Liberal government for the country’s affordability crisis. Beyond soaring housing costs, Canadians also face higher prices for groceries and gas.
The economic misery could get worse because of tariffs imposed by President Trump on many Canadian exports that could lead to major job losses and even a recession.
Providing relief to beleaguered Canadians has been a main focus of the two men leading the two main parties competing in Monday’s election. Prime Minister Mark Carney of the Liberal Party and Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party have both promised tax breaks for first-time home buyers. The two parties have also pledged various other tax breaks for low-income and middle-class families.
“They’re throwing money at voters in this election campaign, which I see as a response to cost of living concerns,” said Kathryn Harrison, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia.
