Based on data from Statistics Canada’s 2016 Canadian Income Survey, 1.6 million urban households, or 13.6% of all Canadian households living in urban areas, were in core housing need in 2016. This proportion was similar to that in 2015.
In 2016, Ontario was the province with the highest proportion of urban households in core housing need. Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia were the provinces whose proportions of urban households in core housing need were higher than the national average in 2016. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec were the provinces with the lowest proportions of urban households in core housing need in 2016. About half of urban households in core housing need, that is, 769,000 households, were living in Ontario in 2016.