No topic has dominated the headlines in recent years more than housing or the growing lack of affordable options in Metro Vancouver and other cities in British Columbia. Scarce and expensive housing is eroding the province’s liveability and economy, and soaring price increases have become a source of enormous wealth inequality.
This report analyzes policy changes introduced by the BC and federal governments in recent years—including speed bumps to slow more speculative forms of investment, regulatory changes to municipal zoning and rental markets and new public investments in affordable housing stock—and looks to next steps for a solutions agenda.
About the authors
Marc Lee is a Senior Economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Marc joined the CCPA’s British Columbia office in 1998, and is one of Canada’s leading progressive commentators on economic and environmental policy issues. From 2009 to 2015, Marc led the CCPA’s Climate Justice Project (CJP), which published a wide range of research on fair and effective approaches to climate action through integrating principles of social justice. Marc continues to write about climate and energy policy, strategies for affordable housing, federal and provincial budgets and macroeconomics. Marc has an MA in Economics from Simon Fraser University and a BA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. Marc is a past chair of the Progressive Economics Forum, a national network of heterodox economists. He also served as a Visiting Professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy in 2024 to 2025.
Alex Hemingway is a Senior Economist and Public Finance Policy Analyst at the CCPA’s BC Office. His research focuses on tax fairness, public finances, public services, and economic inequality in BC and Canada. Alex holds a PhD in political science from the University of British Columbia, where his research examined the relationship between economic class and political inequality in the advanced industrialized world. He holds two master’s degrees from the London School of Economics (MSc Social Policy and Planning; MSc Global Politics), as well as a BA in psychology from Simon Fraser University. Follow Alex on Twitter
