Businesses in large urban centers like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are finding it challenging to attract and retain employees due to housing shortages and high costs, says Romy. In response, they may have to offer higher salaries to compensate for the elevated cost of living. The crisis also results in people migrating away from urban areas in search of more affordable housing, potentially diminishing the appeal of cities to businesses. High housing prices, coupled with significant household debt, limit consumer spending, affecting various sectors of the economy. Further, that fact that we Canadians have the highest level of household debt in the G7, with three quarters of our debt tied up in mortgages, makes Canadians more vulnerable in the case of economic downturns and job losses. Not to mention the fact that with so much investment tied up in housing, a very lowproductivity asset class, Canadians aren’t investing in more productive segments of the economy. “At CMHC, we’ve mobilized all our resources to work towards restoring housing affordability,” says Romy. “But to fix the problem, every sector needs to get involved, including the business community. The health and prosperity of our communities and our economy depend on it.” 6
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