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Residential construction

Ontario Housing Emergency: A Call for Bold Action to Boost Affordability

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Ontario is grappling with a housing crisis, with stalled projects, canceled developments, and families and individuals priced out of the market. As governments prepare to release their fall economic statement and budget, a coalition of housing experts is urging bold, coordinated action to boost housing construction, lower costs, and restore affordability. The housing sector, from builders to REALTORS, business groups, and not-for-profit organizations, speaks with one voice, calling for governments to work together to unlock housing supply, cut costs, and bring affordability within reach for residents.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Ontario housing sector is facing a crisis, with stalled projects, canceled developments, and families and individuals priced out of the market.
  • The coalition of housing experts is calling for bold, coordinated action to boost housing construction, lower costs, and restore affordability.
  • The housing sector is urging governments to work together to unlock housing supply, cut costs, and bring affordability within reach for residents.
  • The Ontario government has introduced several initiatives, including the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, the Housing Accelerator Fund, and the Apartment Construction Loan Program, to encourage housing construction and reduce costs.
  • However, more action is still needed, and the coalition is calling for governments to adopt several measures, including positioning housing as an economic driver, modernizing outdated tax rules, and cutting costs for homebuyers.
  • The coalition is also recommending that governments support innovation in construction methods, free up land and end exclusionary zoning, and incentivize private capital for rental and ownership housing.

Statistics:

  • Housing supports over 1.2 million jobs and contributes more than $143 billion in economic activity yearly to Canada's GDP.
  • Rising costs, difficult regulatory environments, economic uncertainty, and constrained supply have slowed new housing starts and home purchases, putting tens of thousands of skilled trade jobs at risk.
  • The Ontario government has introduced several initiatives to encourage housing construction, including the Housing Accelerator Fund, which has invested $650 million in housing projects.
  • The Apartment Construction Loan Program has provided $750 million in loans to support apartment construction.
  • The Building Ontario Fund has invested $100 million in housing infrastructure.
  • The Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program has provided $200 million in funding for municipal housing projects.
  • The coalition is recommending that governments adopt measures to support innovation in construction methods, including investing in Canadian companies that provide new solutions.

Sources:

  • Globe NewsWire, "Ontario Facing Housing Emergency, Experts Urge Bold Action to Boost Affordability"
  • TRREB, "media@trreb.ca"
  • FRPO and RHC, "Tony Irwin, President and CEO, tirwin@frpo.org"
  • RESCON, "Grant Cameron, Senior Director of Public Affairs, media@Rescon.com"
  • Habitat for Humanity GTA, "Johnny Keogh, Director Communications, Johnny.Keogh@habitatgta.ca"
  • GTAA, "Daryl Chong, President & CEO, dchong@gtaaonline.com"
  • TRBOT, "Jason Chapman, Media Relations Manager, media@bot.com"
  • REALPAC, "Minakshi Pai, VP, Marketing Communications & Digital Transformation, mpai@realpac.ca"
  • BILD, "Janis McCulloch, Manager, External Communications & Media Relations, jmcculloch@bildgta.ca"
  • OREA, "Jean-Adrien Delicano, Senior Manager, Media Relations, JeanAdrienD@orea.com"
  • R-LABS, "Stacy Piluk, Executive Assistant, stacy.piluk@rlabs.ca"
  • Assembly Corp., "Cammie Mulligan, Marketing Coordinator, cammiem@assemblycorp.ca"
  • Caivan Communities, "Frank Cairo, Co-Founder and CEO, Frank.Cairo@caivan.com"
  • Terra Modular, "Jonathan Nusbaum, CEO, jonathan@terramodular.com"
  • Menkes Developments, "Mimi Ng, Mimi.ng@menkes.com"
  • Horizon Legacy, "Claire Belerique, Marketing Manager, social@horizonlegacy.com"
  • Clark Construction Management, "Marlon Bray, Executive VP, mbray@clarkcm.ca"

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