Beyond Affordability: A Critical Policy Synthesis of Housing and Intergenerational Inequality in Canada

This paper examines how housing-market dynamics in Canada contribute to the reproduction of income and wealth inequality across generations. Rather than treating housing markets as neutral economic mechanisms, the study argues that housing functions as an institutional structure that shapes access to wealth, retirement security, and economic opportunity. Drawing on national evidence from 1990–2022 and comparative OECD literature, this paper presents a critical policy synthesis of existing empirical studies, government statistics, and policy reports examining the relationship between housing prices, income inequality, taxation, and demographic ageing within the broader context of Canadian public policy.

Housing, Inequality, Wealth, Taxation, Ageing

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