Linking immigration to the housing shortage may be missing the problem, experts say

With rising rents and house prices making it increasingly hard to find an affordable place to live, some are pointing the finger at Canada's record-level immigration rates.

Immigration is not the only thing putting a strain on the housing market. High interest rates, increasing building costs and red tape at the municipal level that can slow down or halt home construction are all part of the picture.

But to tackle the pressure being created by immigration, some are now openly discussing forging a public policy link between how many people Canada takes in each year and the state of the country's housing stock.

«It's very simple math. If you have more families coming than you have housing for them, it's going to inflate housing prices,» Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told an audience in Winnipeg recently.

Poilievre has offered few details on how a government led by him would handle immigration, but he did say it would take three factors into consideration.

«We have to bring the [immigration] numbers in line with the number of houses that are built,» he said. «The growth in immigration should not exceed the amount of housing stock we add, the number of doctors we add and the available jobs.»

• This week Cross Country Checkup wants to know: Has the housing shortage changed your view on Canada's immigration strategy? Fill out the details on this form and send us your stories.

CBC News has asked the Conservative leader for more details of his plan to tie immigration to housing, but has yet to receive a response.

The Liberals also have acknowledged that the number of people coming into the country is making the housing crisis worse.

But experts and economists say that targeting immigration broadly won't bring the cost of housing