Housing availability and affordability pose a notable barrier to recruitment in Canada, with about one in five businesses reporting “large or moderate” difficulties in the past year. The challenge varies across regions: businesses in the territories are most affected, while high-cost provinces like BC and Ontario also struggle. These constraints discourage workers from relocating, resulting in rejected job offers, unfilled essential roles, and higher turnover as employees move to more affordable areas.
To learn more about the challenges and potential policy solutions to building more housing, faster, see this C.D. Howe Institute report.
