The Resort Municipality of Whistler plans for a balance of housing for the Whistler community and visitor accommodation to support the local economy. The Province requires each local government to monitor housing supply and identify local housing needs. This information informs our housing action.  

Read more about the history of employee housing in Whistler.

Being a resort municipality means balancing resident and visitor needs 

Our Balance Model Initiative helps us plan to meet our community vision. It is a tool to help anticipate how our future might look by using population and visitor numbers alongside social and environmental impacts.  

The initiative considers data from 20 years of monitoring the Whistler community to help Council make long-term decisions.  

Monitoring the Whistler community 

We collect data to monitor Whistler’s progress towards our community vision. Some of the data is collected during our Community Life Survey. We also use data from Tourism Whistler, Statistics Canada and local utility providers.  

View the Community Monitoring data.  

Whistler’s Housing Needs Report  

The Housing Needs Report looks at how well community housing needs are being met. The report considers home suitability, affordability and if the housing is adequately maintained. This information helps us make future decisions about housing.  

View Whistler’s Housing Needs Report and the summary report shared with Council. 

Our 2022 Housing Needs Report recommended an in-depth analysis of housing needs focused on people in vulnerable housing situations. The Province requires the Housing Needs Report to be updated by the end of 2028, then updated again every five years.  

Interim Housing Needs Report 

The new Provincial housing legislation requires us to do an Interim Housing Needs Report. It covers: 

• The number of housing units, calculated using the Province’s Housing Needs Report method, to meet current and anticipated need in Whistler for the next five and 20 years: 
  • Five years:1,572 housing units; and  
  • 20 years: 5,639 housing units.  

It describes the actions taken by the Resort Municipality of Whistler and our subsidiaries to reduce housing need since the 2022 Housing Needs Report.

It states housing need is close to transportation infrastructure supporting walking, rolling, cycling and public transit.

View the summary report shared with Council.

Vulnerable Populations Housing Needs Assessment 

After the 2022 Housing Needs Report, we worked with housing and social service providers, public sector workers and local residents to better understand vulnerable populations housing needs in the Whistler community. The project’s purpose was to identify the existing supply and community need for emergency, transitional, supportive, and non-market rental housing. This work was supported with a Vancouver Coastal Health grant.  

View the 2024 Vulnerable Populations Housing Needs Assessment (PDF) and the summary report shared with Council (PDF).