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On housing changes, Statistics Canada analysis, and not relying solely on our own experiences

Published October 28, 2015 by Mark Bodnar

UP, not OUT... that's the extremely short summary of a new report published by Statistics Canada today on the long-term trend in housing across Canada.

The article "Evolution of housing in Canada from 1957 to 2014," part of Canadian Megatrends, is now available via the Statistics Canada site. Essentially, they've found that growth in apartment buildings and condos has outpaced growth in suburban single-family homes over the last few decades.

Now, that may seem like a pretty obvious conclusion to a typical Metro Vancouverite looking out their window at forests of highrises, but it's exactly these "obvious" observations that we need to be extra sure to back up with evidence. It's easy to fall into the illusion that our own experiences and surroundings are proof of broader trends.

Don't get me wrong: personal opinions and observations can be a good way to start your research in that they can help you ask initial questions of a topic, but few of us would claim to be a truly representative Average Joe. If you can imagine that others might have different experiences and observations, get some data!

With all that in mind, let's return to Statistics Canada. Many of you will know StatsCan as the publishers of countless data time series and publications (e.g., TV Viewing and Radio Listening data & Quarterly Financial Statistics for Enterprises), but they also provide analysis of trends in topics relevant to our economy, society, health, and more. Where better to get analysis of Canadian trends than from the folks who collect most of the data?

See below for a list of some of their main study, research paper, and technical paper series. Or click here to search across all of the 4000+ reports, papers, and articles published by our national statistics agency.