The Big Take

Housing Shortages and Immigration Booms Are Colliding

On today’s Big Take podcast: What happens when rapid immigration meets slow housing production.

Justin Trudeau, flips a hammer at the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades Training Centre in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, on Friday, April 12, 2024.Photographer: Arlyn McAdorey/Bloomberg
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Canada has seen rapid immigration-fueled population growth in recent years. That’s boosted its economy, but housing production hasn’t kept up. The limited supply and growing demand has exacerbated an existing affordable housing crisis and inspired calls not only to build more, but to impose stricter limits on immigration. A similar dynamic is playing out across advanced economies like Australia and the UK.