Canadian Housing Survey
Detailed information for 2026
Status:
Active
Frequency:
Every 2 years
Record number:
5269
This survey collects information about housing needs and experiences from a sample of Canadian households. Information is collected on core housing need, dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction, housing moves, and other aspects of well-being related to housing.
Description
The Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) provides information on how Canadians feel about their housing and how housing affects them. Information is collected on housing affordability, dwelling characteristics and housing tenure, household situation, security of tenure, economic hardship, dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction, life and community satisfaction, self-assessed health, housing aspiration, intentions to move and buy, neighbourhood safety, previous accommodations, experience with subsidized housing, experience with forced moves and homelessness, and socio-demographic characteristics.
Social and Affordable Housing (SAH) is an important part of the housing stock that provides housing to people in need. The CHS aims to provide detailed and precise statistics on households in SAH by oversampling this subpopulation.
The CHS 2026 will be carried out in all 10 provinces.
Collection period: Data collected from October to March.
Subjects
- Families, households and housing
- Household characteristics
- Housing and living arrangements
- Older adults and population aging (formerly Seniors)
Data sources and methodology
Target population
The target population is the population of Canada's 10 provinces excluding residents of institutions, members of the Canadian Forces living in military camps and people living on reserves and settlements. In all, these exclusions make up about 2% of the population.
People living in other types of collective dwellings are also excluded from the survey:
- people living in residences for dependent seniors; and
- people living permanently in school residences, work camps, etc.; and
- members of religious and other communal colonies.
Collection exclusions make up less than 0.5% of the target population. However, these people are included in the population estimates to which the CHS estimates are adjusted.
Instrument design
The questionnaire content was determined in consultation with the survey sponsor (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). Standardized content was used when available. A questionnaire design specialist was consulted during the design phase. The survey also underwent qualitative testing prior to collection, and recommendations based on those tests were incorporated.
The questionnaire follows standard practices and wording used in electronic questionnaires, such as the automatic control of flows that depend on answers to earlier questions, and the use of edits to check for logical inconsistencies and input errors. The computer application for data collection was tested extensively.
Sampling
Sampling unit:
The sampling unit for the CHS is the private dwelling.
Data sources
Data collection for this reference period: 2026-10-26 to 2027-03-31
Responding to this survey is voluntary.
Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.
The CHS asks that the survey be completed by the household member who is responsible for housing decisions. In all cases, this person is aged 15 years or older. Proxy response is accepted for questions about other household members. This allows one household member to answer questions on behalf of any or all other household members.
View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .
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