In 2021, 16.3% of millennials aged 25 to 39 were living in a census family with their parents. That’s more than double the 8.2% recorded for baby boomers of the same age in 1991. That shift was evident across all major cities studied and has been gradual rather than tied to any single economic event.
In Toronto, the share of 25- to 29-year-olds living with parents climbed from 21.8% in 1991 to 48.6% in 2021 – nearly one in two young adults in that age group. Vancouver saw a comparable rise, from 16.7% to 36.9%.
Racialized Canadians were disproportionately represented in this group. Among Canadian-born millennials, racialized individuals were nearly three times more likely to live with parents than non-racialized, non-Indigenous peers (39.4% versus 14.0%).
University of Alberta research links Canada’s housing crisis to declining wellbeing among young adults, driven by affordability pressures and delayed homeownership.https://t.co/G6QmZmuKWo
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 4, 2026
Homeownership rates in decline
After adjusting for those still living with parents, millennials recorded an adjusted homeownership rate of 49.9% – below Gen-Xers at 56.2% and baby boomers at 55.9% when each cohort was in the same age bracket.
The gap was widest among those in their late 20s, where millennials were nearly 20% less likely to own a home than baby boomers had been.