09/02/2026
Canada reduced immigration partly to ease pressure on housing. 🏠🇨🇦
Now, B.C. may be showing us what happens when population growth actually slows.
Temporary resident numbers have declined, rental demand has weakened, and Vancouver apartment rents are about 5% lower than a year ago.
But there’s a paradox.
Fewer people → less housing demand → less pressure on rents.
But weaker demand can also make new housing projects less attractive to investors and developers, potentially slowing future construction.
So the bigger question isn’t simply whether Canada needs more or less immigration.
It’s whether immigration levels and housing construction are moving together.
Because reducing demand today won’t solve the housing problem if Canada also builds fewer homes tomorrow.