Housing availability and affordability pose a notable barrier to recruitment in Canada, with about one in five businesses reporting “large or moderate” difficulties in the past year. The challenge varies across regions: businesses in the territories are most affected, while high-cost provinces like BC and Ontario also struggle. These constraints discourage workers from relocating, resulting in […]
Five years ago, many Canadians locked in mortgages when the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate was just 0.25 percent. Despite recent rate cuts, today’s five-year fixed mortgage rates remain about 25 percent higher than in 2020. As over a million mortgages come up for renewal in 2025–26, many households will face higher payments – raising concerns […]
From: Tasnim FarihaTo: Housing watchersDate: July 30, 2025Re: We’re Still Losing the Affordable Housing War Canada’s housing supply gap is widening, not narrowing. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which first sounded the alarm in 2022, has now quietly moved away from its 2030 target for restoring housing affordability. The agency has shifted to […]
July 29, 2025 – Canada is not building homes quickly enough to meet rising needs, and red tape combined with low productivity is intensifying pressure on the sector. A new report from the C.D. Howe Institute explores how innovative construction technologies could help accelerate delivery and improve efficiency – if supported by the right policy conditions. In “Building Smarter, Faster: Technology […]
Many countries are leveraging prefabrication technologies – such as modular construction, mass timber, panelized systems, and on-site 3D printing – to accelerate homebuilding, increase productivity in the face of tight labour markets, and improve sustainability.
Published in Financial Post By Tasnim Fariha Canada’s housing supply gap is widening, not narrowing. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which first sounded the alarm in 2022, has now quietly moved away from its original 2030 target for restoring housing affordability. In its most recent update, the agency presents projections on a rolling 10-year […]
The unprecedented surge in population growth following the pandemic exacerbated Canada’s housing shortage. However, recent changes to the federal government’s immigration policy are beginning to reverse this trend. In the past two quarters, the housing stock per 1,000 persons has risen as a result of slower population growth. To continue closing the housing gap, more supply-side […]
Despite strong consumer preferences for ground-related housing such as single-family homes, semi-detached units, and townhomes, housing starts in Canada show a clear shift toward apartments and higher-density options. This supply-side response is driven by economic constraints and land-use pressures, forcing more space-efficient forms of development. For more on alleviating these pressures, see this C.D. Howe Institute conference […]
To: Housing affordability observersFrom: Peter WeltmanDate: May 21, 2025Re: Unpacking Ontario’s Ambitious New Housing Acceleration Bill On May 12, the Government of Ontario tabled Bill 17, the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025. It has a long title and proposes a suite of changes to multiple statutes with the stated goal of removing unnecessary barriers […]
Balancing Canada’s Population Growth and Ageing Through Immigration Policy Canada faces twin demographic pressures: an ageing population and rapid population growth driven by immigration. The report argues that immigration levels must strike a careful balance – sufficient to offset some effects of low fertility and an ageing workforce, but not so high as to outpace […]
Solving Canada’s multiple housing crises requires thinking big – about smaller cities. Vancouver School of Economics professor Paul Beaudry and C.D. Howe Institute Vice President of Economic Analysis Jeremy Kronick discuss why focusing on growing our smaller urban centres into larger cities will help ease the pain nationwide.
Solving Canada’s multiple housing crises requires thinking big – about smaller cities. Vancouver School of Economics professor Paul Beaudry and C.D. Howe Institute Vice President of Economic Analysis Jeremy Kronick discuss why focusing on growing our smaller urban centres into larger cities will help ease the pain nationwide.
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Housing availability and affordability pose a notable barrier to recruitment in Canada, with about one in five businesses reporting “large or moderate” difficulties in the past year. The challenge varies across regions: businesses in the territories are most affected, while high-cost provinces like BC and Ontario also struggle. These constraints discourage workers from relocating, resulting in […] 
Five years ago, many Canadians locked in mortgages when the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate was just 0.25 percent. Despite recent rate cuts, today’s five-year fixed mortgage rates remain about 25 percent higher than in 2020. As over a million mortgages come up for renewal in 2025–26, many households will face higher payments – raising concerns […] 
From: Tasnim FarihaTo: Housing watchersDate: July 30, 2025Re: We’re Still Losing the Affordable Housing War Canada’s housing supply gap is widening, not narrowing. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which first sounded the alarm in 2022, has now quietly moved away from its 2030 target for restoring housing affordability. The agency has shifted to […] 
July 29, 2025 – Canada is not building homes quickly enough to meet rising needs, and red tape combined with low productivity is intensifying pressure on the sector. A new report from the C.D. Howe Institute explores how innovative construction technologies could help accelerate delivery and improve efficiency – if supported by the right policy conditions. In “Building Smarter, Faster: Technology […] 
Published in Financial Post By Tasnim Fariha Canada’s housing supply gap is widening, not narrowing. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which first sounded the alarm in 2022, has now quietly moved away from its original 2030 target for restoring housing affordability. In its most recent update, the agency presents projections on a rolling 10-year […] 
The unprecedented surge in population growth following the pandemic exacerbated Canada’s housing shortage. However, recent changes to the federal government’s immigration policy are beginning to reverse this trend. In the past two quarters, the housing stock per 1,000 persons has risen as a result of slower population growth. To continue closing the housing gap, more supply-side […] 
Despite strong consumer preferences for ground-related housing such as single-family homes, semi-detached units, and townhomes, housing starts in Canada show a clear shift toward apartments and higher-density options. This supply-side response is driven by economic constraints and land-use pressures, forcing more space-efficient forms of development. For more on alleviating these pressures, see this C.D. Howe Institute conference […] 
To: Housing affordability observersFrom: Peter WeltmanDate: May 21, 2025Re: Unpacking Ontario’s Ambitious New Housing Acceleration Bill On May 12, the Government of Ontario tabled Bill 17, the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025. It has a long title and proposes a suite of changes to multiple statutes with the stated goal of removing unnecessary barriers […] 
Balancing Canada’s Population Growth and Ageing Through Immigration Policy Canada faces twin demographic pressures: an ageing population and rapid population growth driven by immigration. The report argues that immigration levels must strike a careful balance – sufficient to offset some effects of low fertility and an ageing workforce, but not so high as to outpace […] 
Solving Canada’s multiple housing crises requires thinking big – about smaller cities. Vancouver School of Economics professor Paul Beaudry and C.D. Howe Institute Vice President of Economic Analysis Jeremy Kronick discuss why focusing on growing our smaller urban centres into larger cities will help ease the pain nationwide.