Two-thirds of Canadians own their home. That number—66.5 percent in the 2021 Census—is often cited whenever the country debates whether its housing market is working. Taken at face value, it reassures policymakers that the system, whatever its flaws, delivers for the majority. But look beneath the surface, and the number tells a more complicated story.
Statistics Canada recently compared housing outcomes for Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Baby Boomers at the same stage of life. The headline finding was unsurprising but dispiriting: among Millennials aged 25 to 39 in 2021, 16.3 percent were living with their parents—nearly double the 8.2 percent of Baby Boomers in the same age bracket in 1991.
