Rent hikes, daycare waits and higher mortgages: affordability looms large for these Ontario voters

At 35, Hamilton resident Joe Struthers says he's one car repair away from crisis.

He eats toast for breakfast, skips lunch, and leans on leftovers for dinner to make it through the day.

In the same Stoney Creek neighbourhood as Struthers, Jessica Fawcett, an occupational therapist and a mother of two, says her family's financial future feels uncertain — squeezed by the lack of affordable daycare and the prospect of renewing her mortgage at a much higher interest rate next year.

Different lives, same issue: the rising cost of living has become impossible to ignore, and for many voters in the Hamilton area, it's the ballot-box question this federal election.

Struthers, who rents an apartment in the east Hamilton area, says each month feels like he's "just trying to survive." Despite years in the trades, he said the pay no longer supports a decent life. "Skilled labour just doesn't cut it anymore," he said.

He has picked up seasonal work hanging Christmas lights to help cover basic expenses but it hasn't been enough. "It doesn't get me ahead — it just helps me catch up," he told CBC Hamilton.

With food prices rising, his meals are limited to toast in the morning and dinner leftovers. "I check prices constantly — there's no room for anything extra." His rent also went up during the pandemic and hasn't increased since, but that offers little relief. "If my landlord decides to sell, I'd probably end up homeless," he said. "I couldn't afford anything else in the city." 

The ongoing financial pressure has shaped his politics. Frustrated by what he sees as government mismanagement and inflation driven by federal policy, Struthers said he's voting Conservative. "They [Liberals] have created a country that doesn't work for me."

His concerns come amid data showing that Canadians are spending more than ever on housing. In 2024, the average Hamilton home cost around $928,000, nearly double what it was just five years ago, according to a Hamilton Housing Market Report published by WOWA.ca.

Renting isn't much easier — a two-bedroom apartment in the city now averages more than $1,760 per month, a 13.7 per cent increase in just one year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) Fall 2024 Rental Market Report.

Though prices have cooled slightly in recent months, affordability remains deeply out of reach for many.

Fawcett, the 33-year-old mother of two, said her family is doing okay for now, but just barely.

"The $10-a-day daycare program changed everything for us," she said, referring to an initiative under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "It's the reason we haven't had to make sacrifices around food or other basics. But we only have a spot for one child — not the other. If I can't get a space in three weeks, I might be in a tough spot."

Fawcett is currently waitlisted at multiple centres, with some lists over 200 families long, she said. "The only private daycare with availability would cost us $2,000 a month — basically a full paycheck," she said.