In 1972, with a population of 22 million, Canada built 232,200 new homes. Fifty years later in 2022, with a population of 39 million, fewer than 220,000 new homes were built. We have not been able to move the needle on supply in two generations. In fact, we’re losing ground.
In the June 2023Â Construction Monitor —Â ICBA’s quarterly publication with information and statistics relevant to the B.C. construction industry — ICBA examines several recent housing reports and compiles statistics on the B.C. housing crisis.
According to a recent report by RBC, between now and 2030, Canada will need to build nearly six million new homes (or 830,000 annually) to meet demand – several times more than what we’ve achieved over the past five decades.
“How can we have any hope of reaching this level of new home construction?” asks ICBA President Chris Gardner in his introduction to the Monitor. “Four things have to happen: a dramatic reduction in the costs imposed by city halls; a wholesale change in the project approval and permitting process; commitments from all levels of government to be bold, and to act faster and work together; and an acceptance of the reality of densification by the public.”
For the full Monitor, click HERE.
