Solving Canada’s housing crisis: What it takes to build more, faster

On December 8, 2025, Canadian Club Toronto convened a panel of industry leaders at the Hyatt Regency Toronto to address one of our country’s most pressing social and economic issues: Canada’s housing crisis.

Entitled, “Solving Canada’s Housing Crisis: What It Takes to Build More, Faster”, the esteemed panel included Ana Bailão, CEO, Build Canada Homes, Victoria Mancinelli, Director, Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Easter Canada, and Jaime McKenna, President, Fengate Real Estate.

Moderated by Architect and Urban Planner, Naama Blonder, the panel unpacked the challenges impacting the Canadian housing sector today, including rising development costs, declining housing starts (now at their lowest since 2009), labour shortages, escalating rent prices, and restrictive zoning. The panel highlighted that our crisis is not only a supply issue but also a mismatch between what is built and what Canadians need.

Reframing the crisis as an opportunity, the panel also explored solutions toward building a more industrialized, coordinated, and affordable housing continuum. The discussion was focused on clearing roadblocks, investing more capital in the housing sector, scaling modular housing and modern methods of construction, investing in rapid skills training and ongoing development, and building lasting partnerships between private developers and non-profits to bring more housing to the market, faster.

Key discussion takeaways:

• Accelerating supply: Streamlining approvals and reducing bottlenecks are essential to boost housing starts. Strong partnerships at all levels of government are crucial to the accelerated delivery of housing.
• Aligning supply with demand: While more homes are needed, it’s equally important to ensure new development aligns with the needs of diverse communities, including families, seniors, and newcomers.
• Affordability: Structural reforms beyond interest rate cuts are needed to improve price-to-income ratios.
• Innovation: Modular construction and modern methods of construction require stable demand and policy support. The industry must adapt and modernize to scale the delivery of new homes.
• Labour Shortages: Addressing the anticipated skilled trades gap through training and immigration is critical. We must be proactive now to keep pace with demand in the future.
• Partnerships: Collaboration between private developers, non-profits, and municipalities with aligned interests can unlock scalable solutions.

For attendees, the message was clear: solving Canada’s housing crisis requires urgent, coordinated action across all areas of the country’s housing sector. Through a multi-pronged approach, with bold policy reforms and diverse industry leadership, Canada can build more homes faster and ensure housing remains accessible for all.