New StatCan data reveals millennials own homes at lower rates than boomers or Gen-Xers did at the same age
A landmark Statistics Canada report has laid bare the scale of the housing challenge facing Canadian millennials, revealing that younger Canadians are less likely to own a home, more likely to live with their parents, and more likely to settle for smaller properties than either Generation X or baby boomers were at the same stage of life.
Using Census of Population data spanning 1991, 2006 and 2021, the report compares housing outcomes across three generations when each was between 25 and 39 years old – offering one of the most detailed intergenerational housing comparisons produced to date.
A generation staying home longer
One of the report's most striking findings is the dramatic rise in young adults living with parents.
In 2021, 16.3% of millennials aged 25 to 39 were living in a census family with their parents. That's more than double the 8.2% recorded for baby boomers of the same age in 1991. That shift was evident across all major cities studied and has been gradual rather than tied to any single economic event.
In Toronto, the share of 25- to 29-year-olds living with parents climbed from 21.8% in 1991 to 48.6% in 2021 – nearly one in two young adults in that age group. Vancouver saw a comparable rise, from 16.7% to 36.9%.
Racialized Canadians were disproportionately represented in this group. Among Canadian-born millennials, racialized individuals were nearly three times more likely to live with parents than non-racialized, non-Indigenous peers (39.4% versus 14.0%).
University of Alberta research links Canada’s housing crisis to declining wellbeing among young adults, driven by affordability pressures and delayed homeownership.https://t.co/G6QmZmuKWo
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 4, 2026
Homeownership rates in decline
After adjusting for those still living with parents, millennials recorded an adjusted homeownership rate of 49.9% – below Gen-Xers at 56.2% and baby boomers at 55.9% when each cohort was in the same age bracket.
The gap was widest among those in their late 20s, where millennials were nearly 20% less likely to own a home than baby boomers had been.
By the late 30s, some catching up was evident, with the gap narrowing to 7.6% – a pattern the report attributes to delayed rather than forgone homeownership.
The type of property owned has also shifted. In Vancouver, the share of 25-to-39-year-olds owning a single-detached home fell from 36.3% for baby boomers in 1991 to just 12.2% for millennials in 2021. In Toronto, it declined from 32.7% to 19.4% over the same period.
The report echoes earlier work from StatCan’s Canadian Housing Statistics Program, which found that “parents’ wealth could – through gifts and inheritances – make it easier for their adult children to afford a down payment,” reinforcing the role of intergenerational transfers in today’s market.
Surveys have underscored the mood shift. Over half of millennials and Gen Z respondents felt buying a home was out of reach, even as most still aspired to own.
RBC Economics recently observed that while ownership costs eased from their 2023 peak, affordability remains “stretched” in many markets, with ownership still consuming more than half of a typical buyer’s income in major cities.
Delayed family formation compounds the challenge
The report also points to changing family structures as a contributing factor.
Married couples with children – historically the household type with the highest homeownership rates – made up just 26.6% of millennials aged 25 to 39, compared with 34.5% for Gen-Xers and 46.6% for baby boomers.
The rate of marriage among 25-to-39-year-olds fell from 58.0% in 1991 to 35.3% in 2021.
The researchers caution against a single-cause explanation, noting that affordability pressures, delayed family formation, longer educational careers, and demographic change all appear to have played a role.
Notably, homeownership rates among married couples have remained relatively stable across generations – the decline is driven largely by fewer young Canadians forming those households in the first place.
Statistics Canada said future research would examine shelter costs relative to household incomes across generations.
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