​Kincardine’s growing housing emergency: families struggle as affordability vanishes

Kincardine, known for its scenic lakefront and summer tourism, is quietly facing a deepening emergency — one that is pushing long-time residents, working families, and seniors to the edge.

In 2025, the average price of a home in Kincardine hovers around $530,000, with rents soaring to $1,800–$3,000/month depending on location and size.

While the municipality markets itself as a desirable place to visit or retire, the reality for those earning minimum wage ($17.20/hour) or even modest incomes is stark: Kincardine is becoming unaffordable to its own people.

Local food banks have seen rising demand. Wait-lists for subsidized housing through Bruce County are more than 1,000 applicants long, with many families waiting years for a one-bedroom or modest apartment. Some are living in overcrowded homes, couch-surfing, or being forced to leave the community they grew up in.

“I work full-time and still can’t afford a place of my own,” says one Kincardine resident who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s heartbreaking to feel as if your town doesn’t have room for you anymore.”

Despite some initiatives — such as the proposed Tiny Town project and Flourish’s studio living concept — very little has progressed. These initiatives promised creative solutions to affordable housing, but there have been no visible updates or action. The silence from municipal leadership has left many residents wondering: Where is the urgency?

Kincardine’s Housing Action Plan includes admirable goals: more diverse housing, affordable units, and better access. But without clear timelines, strong leadership, and consistent public updates, these plans risk becoming little more than words on paper.

This is no longer a slow-moving crisis — it’s an emergency. Families are being forced out. Seniors are isolated. Young people are leaving. Yet, housing is rarely at the forefront of Kincardine council discussions. For a municipality built on community, this growing silence is troubling.

If Kincardine continues to prioritize tourism growth and luxury development while failing to protect and house its own residents, we risk becoming a municipality of empty Airbnbs, seasonal visitors, and lost neighbours.

Now is the time for council to act with boldness and compassion:
 

• Push forward stalled housing projects with transparency and urgency.
• Support rent-geared-to-income programs, co-op housing, and low-barrier shelter options.
• Host public forums and let residents speak — because the silence is growing louder than any council meeting.

Kincardine is at a tipping point. And the people who live here — the ones working the shops, cleaning the rooms, staffing the hospital, raising children —deserve more than being priced out of their own home. They deserve to be seen, heard, and housed.

Alexander R. Falkingham
Kincardine