What today’s all-time high housing demand means for us all

The residential construction industry has a significant economic impact across Canada. It is the engine that drives our economy and generates substantial tax revenue, provides employment opportunities and contributes to the growth of multiple related industries. However, recent industry challenges, such as labour shortages, higher interest rates, high taxation on housing and outdated planning regulations, have slowed residential construction down at a time when our population growth is absolutely surging.

Pace of homebuilding

The growth of communities across southern Ontario such as Hamilton and Burlington has accelerated in recent years. Hamilton alone is projected to grow from 584,000 residents today to more than 823,000 residents by 2051. To accommodate this rapid pace of growth, the Smart Prosperity Institute has stated that over the next decade, we need to build 52,400 new homes in Hamilton alone, while the provincial government has assigned the city a target of 47,000 new homes. That is more than double the current pace of housing construction. The city of Burlington is on a similar trajectory in which housing production in the emerging downtown and adjacent to the city’s three GO stations will have to increase significantly to reach a target of 29,000 new homes over the next decade. This pace of growth brings major investment opportunities, new business prospects and abundant job creation. For homebuyers – this means a wide variety of options for new communities to put down roots.

However, the pace of homebuilding in the GTHA is nowhere near fast enough to meet current and projected levels of population growth. On top of that, the industry’s challenges in delivering the required amount of new housing supply are not likely to diminish. There are currently thousands of unfilled construction jobs across the province when more than 80,000 construction workers are expected to retire in the next decade. In order to reach Ontario government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by 2031, we need a sustained and multifaceted approach involving government policies and private sector initiatives.

Four major initiatives

WEHBA and its members have been working hard to foster collaboration between all levels of government, developers, community organizations and housing advocates to create comprehensive solutions. Over the past couple of years, WEHBA has advocated for a number of major initiatives for addressing the housing crisis in Hamilton and Burlington:

1) Through advocacy on behalf of the industry, Hamilton’s Official Plan was approved with an urban boundary expansion and the elimination of height limits.

2) We worked with our partners at the provincial government to support a plan to improve housing attainability and affordability. The new More Homes, Built Faster Act (Bill 23) makes it easier to build new homes quicker by reducing housing costs on affordable housing, cutting red tape and helping to enable the construction of the needed 1.5 million new homes in the next decade.

3) Shifting the conversation in Hamilton and Burlington to housing supply shortages by releasing a report by the Smart Prosperity Institute, led by economist Dr. Mike Moffatt on our growing population and the need for enough housing to attract and retain workers.

4) Through our advocacy, Hamilton City Council voted in support of maintaining and enhancing a Brownfield remediation program that cleans up contaminated soils.

5) Through WEHBA efforts, the City of Hamilton will be reforming parking policies; a significant win for young people and families as reduced parking minimums can help achieve intensification and improve affordability through lowers construction costs.

The GTHA is transforming right before our eyes. As our cities continue to grow and bring in talented young students, families and workers, the future is looking even brighter. We all need to work together to make homeownership a reality for thousands of young families and aspiring homeowners. By building a wide diversity of complete, vibrant communities and a variety of housing options we can make our cities affordable and inclusive of all ages and budgets.