Building more social housing in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area could create major economic benefits while helping address one of the region’s biggest affordability challenges.
According to a new report covered by the Toronto Star and TorontoToday, constructing roughly 22,000 new social housing units in the GTHA by 2050 could add nearly $50 billion to GDP and create about 15,000 full-time annual jobs.
Social Housing Could Generate Major Economic Benefits
The report, called the Public Housing Dividend Report, was commissioned by the GTHA Community Housing Collaborative and prepared by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis.
It found that strategic investment in public housing could strengthen communities while creating long-term economic and social benefits across the region.
The central growth scenario projects:
- Nearly $50 billion in GDP impact by 2050
- About 15,000 sustained full-time jobs annually by 2050
- $12.6 billion in tax revenue over 25 years
- $1.8 billion in avoided health care and justice system costs
- $48.3 billion in social value for communities and residents
- 23,000 public housing units added or protected from closure by 2050
The Report Looks at More Than Construction
The report does not only look at the cost of building new housing.
It also measures the broader value created when people have stable, affordable homes.
That includes better health outcomes, fewer emergency room visits, fewer hospital stays, lower justice-system costs, greater housing stability, improved well-being, and stronger community outcomes.
The Best Scenario Combines New Construction and Repairs
The report modeled five different investment scenarios for public housing in the GTHA through 2050.
These included maintaining the status quo, reducing funding, focusing only on repairs, focusing only on new construction, and combining new construction with renewal of existing housing.
The combined approach was found to be the strongest pathway because it would preserve existing homes while also expanding future housing access.
Thousands More People Could Be Housed
The GTHA currently has roughly 80,000 social housing units, serving about 160,000 residents across more than 600 developments and over 79,500 households, according to the report.
Adding about 22,000 new units would bring the region’s total to approximately 102,500 active units by 2050 and could house roughly 239,500 people.
The Investment Would Require Billions in Funding
The report says building the additional social housing units would require about $19.3 billion in additional funding.
However, it also projects that the investment could generate long-term economic returns through GDP growth, job creation, tax revenue, avoided public costs, and improved social outcomes.
In other words, the report frames public housing not only as a social support program, but as economic infrastructure.
Why This Matters for Toronto’s Housing Market
Toronto and the broader GTHA continue to face severe affordability pressure.
Market housing alone has not been able to provide enough deeply affordable homes for lower-income households, seniors, families, and people facing housing insecurity.
More social housing could help reduce pressure on emergency shelters, health care systems, and households priced out of the private rental market.
What This Signals for Ontario
The report adds to a growing argument that housing affordability is not just a real estate issue.
It is also an economic issue.
If people cannot afford stable housing, it can affect employment, health, productivity, family stability, and public costs.
For Ontario, the findings suggest that investing in social housing could support both affordability and long-term economic growth, especially in high-cost regions like the GTHA.
What This Signals for Buyers and Renters
For renters, more social and public housing could eventually mean more deeply affordable options outside the private market.
For buyers, it could help reduce pressure on the broader housing system by creating more housing options for people who are not well served by market-rate ownership or rental housing.
However, the scale of the challenge is large, and the benefits would depend on long-term funding, construction capacity, government coordination, and the ability to protect existing affordable housing.
References
TorontoToday. (2026, June 1). Building more social housing in GTHA could bring billions in economic benefits: report.
https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/real-estate-housing/building-more-social-housing-gtha-billions-economic-benefits-report-12356818
GTHA Community Housing Collaborative. (2026, June 1). New research demonstrates $102B in value could be created by investing in public housing infrastructure.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/new-research-demonstrates-102b-in-value-could-be-created-by-investing-in-public-housing-infrastructure-815749758.html
Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis. (2026). Public Housing Dividend Report.
https://www.cancea.ca/
Toronto Star. (2026). Building more Toronto-area social housing could give the economy a $50-billion boost, report says.
https://www.thestar.com/
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