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Solutions to Canada’s Housing Crisis: Report
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February 4, 2025 – Tackling Canada’s housing crisis requires actionable strategies, policy reforms, and innovative technologies to boost supply, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report.
A special policy conference report based on the Institute’s November 2024 conference, “Housing Policy for a Growing Canada,” draws together insights from leading experts in the field, including policymakers, researchers, and builders. The conference aimed at identifying the underlying causes of Canada’s housing challenges and exploring potential solutions.
Key strategic policy reforms emphasized by the participants and panelists included temporarily waiving municipal fees such as development charges, community benefits charges, and parkland levies; providing real estate tax abatements for developers to boost short-term housing supply; and expanding tax relief for non-profits, including a 100 percent GST rebate or exemption for affordable housing projects.
Participants also recommended allocating land transfer tax revenue to affordable housing, deferring capital gains taxes on reinvested profits, and implementing zoning reforms, such as removing unit maximums and parking minimums.
Other ideas included the formation of a National Housing Secretariat to coordinate policies and foster partnerships to maximize resources. Additionally, attendees argued that innovative building technologies, such as 3D printing and modular homes, could help reduce construction time and increase labour productivity within a more business-friendly regulatory environment. They also emphasized promoting population growth in smaller cities through regional transit investment and suggested creating a robust housing database and studying international precedents to ensure that all levels of government follow best practices in their efforts to solve the housing crisis.
For more information contact: Tasnim Fariha, Senior Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute; Percy Sherwood, Communications Officer, C.D. Howe Institute, 416-407-4798, psherwood@cdhowe.org.
The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada’s most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.
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