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Housing Needs Assessment Tool

A reliable, equity-focused way to measure and compare housing needs in every community across Canada

National reports agree that current affordable housing programs are not meeting targets to reduce core housing need and homelessness. How can we do better?

HART’s Housing Needs Assessment

A census-based tool that measures core housing need and affordable shelter costs by income category, household size, and priority populations. Our methods allow governments to set effective housing targets that will lift Canadians out of chronic housing need and homelessness.

The tool is powered by census data custom built by Statistics Canada in collaboration with HART researchers.

The HART tool includes data for Canada; the Provinces and Territories; Census divisions (CD), a general term for regional planning areas; and Census subdivisions (CSD), a general term for municipalities. View the Illustrated Glossary of Census Geographies from Statistics Canada.

You can also view our guide to understanding 2021 data (in French, too!), and our 2016 data to get a better sense of how your community has changed.

Our assessment features:

  • Categories that reflect the communities they represent
  • A view of household size and income together
  • Housing need amongst priority populations and those with distinct housing needs
Want to understand how we made it?
View our hna methodologyView the tool’s code on githubsee raw data on the Dataverse

Please note we’re working on getting the HNA tool translated. If you need any of our data in French, please get in touch.

For information on a specific geography, begin typing the desired name in the Select Census Geography box, and select from the options listed. The map will update with your chosen geography in green. For information on a specific geography, begin typing the desired name in the Select Census Geography box, and select from the options listed. Accents may be required to bring up the desired community name. The map will update with your chosen geography in green.

You can also click on the map to select a province or territory (P/T). Data for the P/T will be displayed. The map will update with all CDs in the P/T. Clicking on a CD will update the data below, and the map will update to show all CSDs within the CD. Finally, clicking on a CSD will update all of the data below.

Census geographies can be selected using the map above, or through the search bar. Use the above tabs to view tables and graphs related to Core Housing Need and Household Projections.

Please note that all census data is subject to random rounding and suppression for individual’s privacy purposes. If you are selecting a community with less than 2,000 households, the results will be more significantly impacted by these practices and some graphics below may not be available. HART’s household projections are based on previous trends and should be considered alongside other sources of information. This method does not account for historically-high migration and a changing housing policy landscape after 2021. More information can be found in the methods document here and through Census Canada.

This dashboard was created in collaboration with Licker Geospatial, who can be reached for further questions regarding dashboard functionality and design.

Current Housing Needs Assessments

Get a birds eye view of some of the most populous communities with some interpretive text for 2016 and 2021.