The projections developed in this study do not include the potential impact of changes in provincial government policy, such as the creation of the Greenbelt or the implementation of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. More generally, the projections do not reflect constraints on the supply of developable land that might hinder population growth in some areas or shift it to other areas. This would occur if land supply constraints lead to higher land prices in some areas, which are passed along to consumers in the form of higher house prices. Rising prices would cause some buyers to move to communities with lower housing costs. For these reasons, actual growth for individual regions will vary compared to the projections contained in Section 5. However, shifts away from some parts of the Greater Golden Horseshoe will largely be offset by shifts towards other areas. Growth for the GGH as a whole is expected to be close to the totals shown for both the Inner and Outer Rings.
The research also excludes potential changes in federal government policy that would affect population growth. For example, the federal government has recently started to consider raising annual immigration targets. This change would increase the rate of population growth and result in expanded household formation and increased demand for housing.
By focusing on economic influences on migration and household formation, this research also does not factor in other trends that may affect population growth and household formation, such as:
- Changing attitudes and behaviour that might increase or decrease birth rates, cause young people to stay in their parents' homes for longer or shorter periods, or affect marriage rates.
- Changing lifestyles and medical science that affect life expectancy.
- Changing attitudes of immigrants or the development of ethnic clusters that might cause more or fewer immigrants to settle in central Ontario.