Drifting into the Sargasso Sea of municipal development...
Sean Speer: Mark Carney’s Build Canada Homes agency won’t solve Canada’s housing crisis
When the federal government declares itself a builder of first resort, municipalities have less incentive to fix their own rules. Why tough out local opposition to four- and six-plexes if Ottawa will write a cheque for a small number of units on federal land? The political economy here is perverse: federal builds can crowd out the urgency for systemic municipal reform even as they barely dent the national shortage.
None of this says social and supportive housing don’t matter. But the real housing crisis is a market scarcity problem. It requires market-scale solutions: legalize more housing types, reduce the cost and time to build, and align population inflows with construction capacity so we aren’t pouring demand into a fixed pipe. The federal government’s comparative advantage is setting conditions and incentives, not acting like a national developer.
By reframing the challenge as primarily one of non-market production, Build Canada Homes essentially guarantees under-performance. It addresses a narrow segment of housing while the wider market remains constricted. If your policy won’t move the big levers—zoning, approvals, and fees—you shouldn’t expect big results.
thehub.ca
