Governments across Canada have spent years assuming rising home prices will drive economic growth. This strategy has harmed younger people, renters and newcomers, more and more of whom are locked out of unaffordable housing markets.

To restore affordability for all, Gen Squeeze encourages Canadians and their governments to celebrate stalling home prices so that earnings can catch up. Stalling prices shouldn’t be seen as a sign of ‘weakness’ in the housing market. This attitude assumes that the primary purpose of housing is as an investment strategy to grow wealth – not a place to call home. We can no longer pursue an economic strategy that grows the major cost of living out of reach with what Canadians earn from their jobs. Stalling home prices will prioritize hard work paying off today the way it did for previous generations.