An updated version of the Canadian Rental Housing Index (RHI) was unveiled today at a press conference held in Toronto. The RHI is an invaluable online tool that uses census data to provide detailed information on rental housing conditions across Canada. The updated version contains rental housing data broken down by federal ridings; ideal timing given the federal election.

The new data suggests that rental housing affordability continues to decline. It demonstrates ridings in BC and Ontario accounted for 11 of the top 20 ridings facing the worst affordability challenges, with ridings in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Manitoba rounding out the Top 20. The RHI also reveals the rental challenges faced by Indigenous led households, who are facing higher affordability challenges than the non-Indigenous population.

The RHI is a valuable tool that should support your efforts to communicate with candidates in your federal ridings about the rental housing affordability challenges throughout Canada.

Read more about the announcement in the news release (PDF) and visit the Rental Housing Index website to learn more.