Despite all the talk and a host of government initiatives, Toronto region’s 20-year-old housing crisis continues to worsen significantly—and needs emergency remedies. That was the big takeaway at The Housing Symposium: Unlocking Solutions to a Generational Crisis. Canada, and particularly the Toronto region, faces a whole set of mostly longstanding challenges holding back new housing construction.
Building costs are soaring, new home construction is stalling, the condo market is on a steep slide and supply of affordable and family-sized housing is falling farther behind. With the exception of condo units where prices are softening due to over-supply, in every other segment, the worsening supply crunch which drive prices even higher.
Our housing system is bogged down by red tape, outdated regulations, old-fashioned and costly construction practices and development charges that add 25-30% to the cost of new housing.
Throughout the day, speaker after speaker called for urgent transformational change to reboot our homebuilding sector right across the ownership and rental spectrum.
Reduce/eliminate development charges | Development charges are an extra tax on new housing. They need to be cut to incent development of certain categories of new housing.
Cut the red tape | Toronto is over-regulated compared to other North American cities. Getting housing approved and built needs to be faster and more predictable.
Embrace innovation | Robotics, factory-built and modular housing are proven solutions to speed up construction and lower costs. Big in Europe; barely started here.
New financing models | Breaking with traditional financing and ownership model would provide much needed flexibility and sustainability
$1t
the amount CHMC estimates is needed to build all the housing Canada needs.
354,000
Rental units Ontario must build over the next 10 years to meet demand
300,000
Workers projected to leave the housing sector, exacerbating the labour shortage.
20%
Decline in Toronto’s housing starts in 2024 compared to 2023.
36%
Portion of housing-related spending that goes back to the government through fees and taxes.
5.1m
Homes Canada needs to build over the next eight years to meet demand.
“We have to wake up and have a sense of urgency, no more reports. We know what to do. The big solution is rentals. We need a purpose-built rental market that actually functions, and right now, we don’t have that. This housing crisis is a planning crisis. It’s not just about high interest rates or market cycles, it’s about zoning, approvals, and government regulations that make it nearly impossible to build the housing we need. If we don’t act now, supply will dry up, and in two to three years, prices will skyrocket again. We have to stop overcomplicating this, there’s only one way to fix the crisis, and that’s more supply.”
– Benjamin Tal, Deputy Chief Economist, CIBC
“Technology can be a way to bring young people back into construction. The nature of the work on-site is dull, dirty, dangerous, repetitive. But when we give robotics to our young team, they love it. They feel like they are making a difference and solving a major problem our country is experiencing. These robots can be reprogrammed to cut wood, weld, paint, do drywall. We’re calling on companies to partner with us and try new technologies and solutions. We can’t solve the housing crisis with the same tools we’ve always used. It’s time to build smarter.”
– Nhung Nguyen, CEO, Horizon Legacy
“It is imperative that we have systemic change in the way that we build, in the way that we zone, in the way that we finance, and in the way that we tax housing. These are things that are going to take time, but they cannot be delayed any longer. If we want to continue to have the great country and great cities that we have, we need real, structural reform.”
– Dr. Carolyn Whitzman, Author, Adjunct Professor, School of Cities, University of Toronto and member of Government of Canada’s Export Panel on the Homebuilding Industry
We can’t just cherry-pick solutions for a problem as layered and complex as this. We need a holistic approach—eliminating unnecessary regulations and fees, reimagining financing and ownership, and revolutionizing homebuilding through technology like factory construction, modular design, and robotics. This will lower costs, standardize quality, and speed up construction.
Fixing Canada’s housing crisis requires everyone—government, home builders, innovators, and investors—working together to ensure that people across our country and region can find and afford the right home for them.
Keynote speaker Stefan Lindbäck, CEO of Lindbäcks, Sweden, challenged the room to rethink what it takes to get housing built, even if it means taking fewer profits for the greater good:
“If you want to make real change, ask yourself: how can I be 20% more efficient? What do I have to do so my boss can accept a lower profit? Be more efficient, accept a lower profit, and you’ll find success.”
Thank you to our partners:
