Shocking number of people in Ontario now living with family amid affordability crisis

More and more people in Ontario are apparently being forced by economic pressures to live with family members for longer than in past years, with one third of households in the province now made up of multiple different generations living in one space.

Equifax Canada's damning new analysis of consumer debt as of the second quarter of 2024 has quantified the nation's financial struggles in many ways, with Ontario identified as a forerunner for credit card, mortgage and auto loan delinquency — and also home to the most people still stuck living with their parents.

The study highlights, among other concerns, a "transformation in the face of Canadian households, with more families opting for multigenerational living arrangements" due to the harrowing fiscal challenges of our time, especially regarding housing affordability.

Concerning

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While 29.2 per cent households in Canada consist of various family members from different walks of life living together for cost reasons — a jump of 2.5 per cent from 2014 — this figure is higher in Ontario, where 32.8 per cent of people live in a multi-generational setting.

Equifax attributes this to a combination of unfortunate factors, including high unemployment rates and fewer job prospects in the face of skyrocketing population numbers, prohibitive rent and real estate prices, and an overall exorbitant cost of living that has young people "increasingly relying on the support of their parents and grandparents."