As housing affordability worsens across Canada, developers are pushing for faster, more effective federal support to get new homes built, especially when it comes to affordable and rental supply.
In Granby, Que., just south of Montreal, workers at Avac Beton are producing prefabricated concrete panels that can be shipped ready to install, complete with insulation, windows, doors, and even Juliet balconies.
"I call it 'ready-to-wear' for construction," Avac Beton vice president Virginie Brouillard told CBC News.
That ready-to-build approach is central to the plans of developer Daniel Goodfellow, who joined the company’s ownership in 2021. Goodfellow, whose firm Werkliv develops student housing across Canada, said the pivot toward prefabricated panels reflects a broader push to build homes “cheaper, faster and better.”
But while the manufacturing process has become more efficient, the broader system still isn’t. Goodfellow said the delays involved in everything from permitting to securing federal financing make it “nearly impossible to get housing built quickly.” He said the average project takes more than a decade to complete.
“It’s just simply too long,” Goodfellow said. “I’d really like to see the government treat it like a crisis.”
That sense of urgency is echoed by many in the industry, especially in places like Quebec where housing costs have soared. The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) reports that the median price of a single-family home in the Greater Montreal area is now about $600,000—more than double what it was 10 years ago. Rents have also climbed at a historic pace.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has estimated that Canada needs an additional 3.5 million homes by 2030, beyond the 2.3 million units already projected, just to restore affordability to levels seen in 2004.
“Let’s build as much of this stuff as we can,” Goodfellow said. “This is a real supply problem.”
With housing affordability now a central issue in the federal election, all major parties have proposed responses.
Liberal leader Mark Carney has pledged to create an entity that would act as a national developer, overseeing the construction of affordable housing.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has made housing a cornerstone of his campaign, has proposed requiring cities to increase housing completions by 15% annually. Municipalities that fail to meet that target would see their federal grants reduced accordingly.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has pledged to use 100% of suitable federal Crown land to build over 100,000 rent-controlled homes by 2035. Singh has also vowed to ban large corporate landlords from acquiring affordable housing in order to keep rents down.
Carolyn Whitzman, a senior housing expert at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, said the housing crisis stems in part from a breakdown in cooperation between all levels of government.
“All three levels of government have really fallen down on their responsibility to provide a home for everyone,” said Whitzman, who has advised the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, and Greens on housing policy.
Whitzman said the federal government could do more to fund new builds, open up land for development, and help speed up construction, including by supporting more prefabricated housing models.
“The financing structure needs to change to finance in a sustainable long-term way much more new affordable rentals,” she said in an interview with CBC News.
Whitzman also warned that preserving affordability in cities like Montreal will require protecting and expanding zoning policies that have historically supported diverse housing options.
Earlier this week, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante unveiled plans to develop federal land south of downtown, but called for greater investment from Ottawa.
“We see in our streets more and more vulnerable people living in awful conditions. That’s the extreme,” Plante said. “But let’s not forget about the middle class that is definitely struggling on many, many levels.”
A spokesperson for Quebec’s housing minister said the province would welcome increased federal support, so long as it comes without strings attached. Local housing advocates also say federal action is overdue.
Catherine Lussier of FRAPRU, a Quebec-based housing group, said a lack of federal support for social housing since the 1990s has contributed significantly to the current affordability crisis.
“One of the major problems is the lack of social housing for especially tenants that are low income,” Lussier said.
CMP
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