Canada's 'regular' homes now cost millions. Can a new government fix it?

Housing has taken a backseat in Canada's election to Donald Trump's tariffs, but advocates argue the affordability crisis is just as disruptive.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewsletters'My home is worth millions - but my own kids are priced out of this city'15 hours agoShareSaveNadine YousifBBC NewsReporting fromVancouver, British ColumbiaShareSaveEloise Alanna/BBCVancouver has been labelled one of the most "impossibly unaffordable" cities in the world for housing Before Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened its sovereignty, the Canadian psyche was consumed with another major issue: housing affordability. With an election on the horizon, voters are wondering if any party has a plan to fix what has become a generational problem.

Willow Yamauchi says she was just a "regular" person when she and her husband bought their family home in Vancouver 25 years ago for a modest sum of C$275,000 - around C$435,000 ($312,000; £236,400) in today's dollars.

That same property is now worth several million.

In the city on Canada's west coast, Ms Yamauchi's story is as common as the rainy weather. The average price of a detached home in Vancouver in 2000 was around C$350,000. Now, it is more than C$2m.

"My husband and I were very privileged to be able to purchase a house when we did," the 52-year-old writer tells the BBC. As a member of Generation X, timing was on her side.