Front Burner Can Carney move fast enough on affordable housing?
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Aug 15, 2025 Mike Moffatt, the founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative at the University of Ottawa, dives into Canada’s housing crisis. He discusses the government's ambitious plans to rapidly increase affordable housing, including the Build Canada Homes initiative. Moffatt highlights the hurdles posed by rising construction costs, reduced housing starts, and complex regulations. He emphasizes the need for innovative approaches and collaboration between the public and private sectors to make Carney's vision a reality before it's too late.
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Big Ambitions, Conflicting Goals
- Build Canada Homes aims to scale large affordable projects and drive housing innovation simultaneously.
- Mike Moffatt warns this makes it a sprawling agency trying to achieve potentially conflicting goals.
Post‑War Building Model
- Post‑WWII Canada used the CMHC and private builders to build mass, small homes quickly, creating new industries.
- Mike Moffatt recalls 'strawberry box' houses and whole new neighbourhoods like Ajax as the model this government references.
Today's Constraints Make Speed Harder
- Modern housing must meet stricter codes, climate goals and avoid sprawl, unlike the post‑war rush.
- Moffatt says these added constraints make rapid mass building far more complex today.