The affordable housing crisis refers to the growing situation in Canada where housing costs have risen much faster than incomes, making it increasingly difficult for average Canadians to afford adequate housing. This crisis manifests as long wait lists for social housing, rising homelessness, people spending well over 30% of their income on housing, and young adults unable to buy homes their parents could have afforded at the same age. Contributing factors include insufficient housing construction, foreign and speculative investment, low interest rates that drove up prices, and population growth outpacing supply. All levels of government are involved in responses, but critics argue that decades of reduced investment in social housing and inadequate urban planning have worsened the situation.