Published in the Globe and Mail. Housing policy in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area cannot address the housing crisis if it continues to ignore homebuyers’ preferences. Land-use policy has prioritized increasing housing density without giving sufficient consideration to the kinds of homes Ontarians actually want to buy. As surveys done by Ipsos and Environics have […]
Municipalities across Canada rely heavily on property tax revenues to support their operating expenditures. Halifax and Montreal have the highest share of municipal operating revenues from property taxes, while Toronto gets just 31 percent of its operating revenues from property taxes. Analyzing property tax contributions to municipal operating revenues relate to development charges as these […]
From: Andrew Sancton To: Canadian Housing Watchers Date: August 6, 2026 Re: The Hidden Costs of Taming Housing Development Charges The federal government’s introduction of the Canada-Ontario Development Charge Reduction Program, and a new partnership with British Columbia to lower municipally levied development charges for multi-unit housing, represent a promising step toward addressing these fees, but come with key issues. Under […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. The federal government’s introduction of the Canada-Ontario Development Charge Reduction Program, and a new partnership with British Columbia to lower municipally levied development charges for multi-unit housing, represent a promising step toward addressing these fees, but come with key issues. Under the Ontario agreement, the federal and provincial governments will […]
Is the Greater Toronto Area housing shortage just a supply problem? Despite strong demand for ground-related homes, planning policies have favoured apartment construction for decades. Frank Clayton and Benjamin Tal discuss why solving the housing crisis requires building not just more homes, but the right homes.
Is the Greater Toronto Area housing shortage just a supply problem? Despite strong demand for ground-related homes, planning policies have favoured apartment construction for decades. Frank Clayton and Benjamin Tal discuss why solving the housing crisis requires building not just more homes, but the right homes.
by Andrew Sancton Development charges were introduced to help finance infrastructure needed to accommodate growth and became widely accepted under the principle that “growth should pay for growth.” As housing affordability has worsened and charges on new homes have risen in many Canadian municipalities, they have become a major policy issue. The idea that “growth […]
Le 21 juillet 2026 – Alors que la crise du logement persiste au Canada, les redevances d’aménagement sont devenues un enjeu de politique publique de plus en plus important. Un nouveau rapport de l’Institut C.D. Howe conclut qu’elles font augmenter le coût des logements et imposent injustement aux acheteurs de maisons neuves le coût des […]
July 21, 2026 – As Canada’s housing crisis persists, development charges have become an increasingly significant policy issue, with a new C.D. Howe Institute report finding that they raise housing costs and unfairly place the cost of growth-related infrastructure on new homebuyers. In “Growing Pains: Rethinking Development Charges in Canadian Municipalities,” author Andrew Sancton recommends […]
July 14, 2026 – Most homebuyers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) prefer ground-related housing, such as single-detached homes, yet land-use planning policies have favoured apartment construction for much of the past two decades, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Room to Grow: Building More of the Housing Homebuyers Want,” […]
Le 14 juillet 2026 – La majorité des acheteurs de logements dans la région du Grand Toronto et de Hamilton (RGTH) préfèrent les logements avec entrée privée, comme les maisons individuelles, mais les politiques d’aménagement du territoire ont favorisé la construction d’immeubles d’habitation pendant la majeure partie des deux dernières décennies, selon un nouveau rapport […]
by Frank Clayton Surveys consistently show that most homebuyers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including first-time and immigrant households, prefer ground-related housing, particularly single-detached homes and more affordable substitutes such as semi-detached homes, townhouses, and stacked townhouses. Yet the types of housing being built in the region have become increasingly misaligned with these […]
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Published in the Globe and Mail. Housing policy in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area cannot address the housing crisis if it continues to ignore homebuyers’ preferences. Land-use policy has prioritized increasing housing density without giving sufficient consideration to the kinds of homes Ontarians actually want to buy. As surveys done by Ipsos and Environics have […] 
Municipalities across Canada rely heavily on property tax revenues to support their operating expenditures. Halifax and Montreal have the highest share of municipal operating revenues from property taxes, while Toronto gets just 31 percent of its operating revenues from property taxes. Analyzing property tax contributions to municipal operating revenues relate to development charges as these […] 
From: Andrew Sancton To: Canadian Housing Watchers Date: August 6, 2026 Re: The Hidden Costs of Taming Housing Development Charges The federal government’s introduction of the Canada-Ontario Development Charge Reduction Program, and a new partnership with British Columbia to lower municipally levied development charges for multi-unit housing, represent a promising step toward addressing these fees, but come with key issues. Under […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. The federal government’s introduction of the Canada-Ontario Development Charge Reduction Program, and a new partnership with British Columbia to lower municipally levied development charges for multi-unit housing, represent a promising step toward addressing these fees, but come with key issues. Under the Ontario agreement, the federal and provincial governments will […] 
Is the Greater Toronto Area housing shortage just a supply problem? Despite strong demand for ground-related homes, planning policies have favoured apartment construction for decades. Frank Clayton and Benjamin Tal discuss why solving the housing crisis requires building not just more homes, but the right homes. 
by Andrew Sancton Development charges were introduced to help finance infrastructure needed to accommodate growth and became widely accepted under the principle that “growth should pay for growth.” As housing affordability has worsened and charges on new homes have risen in many Canadian municipalities, they have become a major policy issue. The idea that “growth […] 
by Frank Clayton Surveys consistently show that most homebuyers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including first-time and immigrant households, prefer ground-related housing, particularly single-detached homes and more affordable substitutes such as semi-detached homes, townhouses, and stacked townhouses. Yet the types of housing being built in the region have become increasingly misaligned with these […]