Use the best data available to make decisions on housing.

What success looks like

Better data and understanding of the housing market to inform policy decisions so that the government can help Canadians secure good housing.

Government's narrative on progress

Through investments in Budget 2017 for data collection and analytics, the government is improving housing data to track progress on the National Housing Strategy and to support informed and evidence based policy decisions. Investments have led to the creation of the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (a national property-level data base), the introduction of the Canadian Housing Survey, the Social and Affordable Housing Rental Structure Survey, as well as important changes to the Canadian Income Survey. Additional joint initiatives between Statistics Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), made possible by these investments, contribute to improved analysis of housing markets and conditions. These efforts are providing more accurate and complete data on housing markets for all Canadians. Budget 2019 announces initiatives to increase the supply of housing: the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, an expanded Rental Construction Financing Initiative, and a Housing Supply Challenge through the Impact Canada Initiative. These measures capitalize on strengthened data on housing need and housing market conditions, as well as evidence that increasing the supply of housing is the most effective way to address affordability in the long run. Through Budget 2019, CMHC will further enhance data and analytical capability by investing $5 million over two years for state-of-the-art housing supply modelling and related data collection. This will support the recently announced Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability, jointly established by the government and the Province of British Columbia.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.