Government of Canada launches consultation on an industrial housing strategy for homebuilding

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 19, 2024 /CNW/ - Canada is facing a housing crisis that is impacting lives and communities across the country. We need to build more homes, faster, to solve today's challenge and meet the demand of a growing Canada.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, announced the launch of a consultation to source additional ideas on accelerating innovation and productivity in Canada's homebuilding industry.

The consultation will engage a broad range of stakeholders across the construction sector, academics and community leaders through a series of thematic roundtables, as well as solicit feedback from the general public through online submissions. The goal is to identify avenues to expedite homebuilding, provide new ideas to change the way homes are built and bring down housing costs for Canadians. The online consultation will be open until September 13, 2024.

The consultation will include:

• Enhancing productivity within Canada's housing ecosystem
• Incenting innovation and technology adoption
• Exploring the impacts of access to capital
• Strengthening supply chains

An expert panel, comprising experts from Canada's homebuilding sector, will support the consultation and provide advice to the ministers on how to boost the capacity of the industry. The panel is composed of the following members:

• Isabelle Demers, Vice-President, Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation du Québec
• Emma Kozak, Vice-President of Real Estate Lending, Royal Bank of Canada
• Kevin Lee, CEO, Canadian Home Builders' Association
• Bryce Nugent, Director, Modular Housing Association Prairie Provinces
• Carolyn Whitzman, Adjunct Professor, University of Ottawa

Quotes

"The homebuilding industry has a tremendous opportunity to build more homes to better meet housing demand from Canadians. By working together, we can ensure Canada has the skills and environment to promote innovative solutions and tackle Canada's housing crisis."
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

"Creating an Industrial Housing Strategy for Homebuilding is another way we're leading a Team Canada approach to overcome the housing crisis. Through meeting the housing sector's needs, fostering innovation within it, strengthening supply chains and supporting productivity, we will help ensure that everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home."
– The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Quick facts

• In Canada's Housing Plan—released in spring 2024—the Government of Canada committed to supporting homebuilders but also acknowledged the need to build homes smarter, faster and at prices Canadians can afford. As material prices rise and tight labour markets persist, we're committed to an all-hands-on-deck approach to a productive homebuilding sector.
• Innovative technologies, building methods and materials could support higher productivity rates, but adoption is low. For instance, only about 30% of Canadian homebuilders are using some degree of prefabrication for their projects.
• The construction sector is capital-intensive, as developing a new project requires substantial up-front investment. Debt financing makes construction sector firms sensitive to higher interest rates, as interest payments currently take up 40% of the industry's net income compared with 23% for other firms in the economy.
• The cost to construct a residential building in Canada has increased by 58% since 2020, well outpacing the overall inflation rate of 15%. The supply chain was significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, among other global economic disruptions, and prices remain elevated.

Associated links

• Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada's Housing Plan
• Consultation: Informing an Industrial Strategy for Homebuilding
• Budget 2024 – Chapter 1: More Affordable Homes

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Contacts: Audrey Milette, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]