VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian cities—including Toronto and Vancouver, which are experiencing high and increasing housing costs—can accommodate much more housing supply as they have much lower population densities than other major comparable urban centres around the world, finds a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Compared to their international peers, Canadian cities have much lower levels of density, which means there’s an opportunity to expand the supply of housing and perhaps make housing more affordable, too,” said Steven Globerman, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of Urban Population Densities in Canada and Abroad—an Update.
The study, which compares population densities in 30 metropolitan centres in high-income developed countries, finds that Canadian cities are among the least-dense.
Even Vancouver—Canada’s densest major city with 5,750 people per square kilometre—ranks 13th out of 30, and is significantly less dense than San Francisco (6,656 people per square kilometre), a comparable west coast city.
In Toronto, there are 4,552 people per square kilometre. In fact, Toronto’s population could double and the city would still be less dense than New York City (10,712).
And crucially, Toronto and Vancouver are significantly less dense than many other major cities around the world, including London (10,663) Tokyo (15,531) and Paris (20,360).
“Some of the most desirable, liveable cities in the world have much higher population densities than Canada’s biggest cities,” Globerman said.
“Canadian cities can become significantly more dense, and possibly more affordable, without necessarily sacrificing living standards.”
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Steven Globerman, Senior Fellow
Fraser Institute
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org
