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Rising Construction Costs Another Barrier to Affordability
A cornerstone of CMHC’s strategy for addressing Canada’s affordability crisis is increasing the supply of new homes. What is often overlooked, however, is the cost of building those homes. While low labour productivity may play a role, rising construction costs — compounded by government-imposed fees and charges — have become a major driver of the…
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Some Good News on the Tariff Front
One of the most pressing domestic concerns with U.S. tariff policy has been its impact on the steel, aluminum and automotive sectors. While the auto industry enjoys broad protection under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), parts manufacturing remains vulnerable due to the sourcing of materials. In April, parts manufacturers received some relief when it was announced…
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Is 50 the new 30?
Examining the U.S. Proposal for 50-Year Mortgages On November 8, 2025, FHFA Director Bill Pulte said the Trump administration is preparing a plan to introduce a 50-year home mortgage. The premise is straightforward: extend the amortization period to make monthly payments more affordable and expand access to home ownership. But a detailed review of this…
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The Royal Canadian Pancake House
Canada’s struggling productivity has been under the spotlight for the past two years. On March 26, 2024, Carolyn Rogers, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, called the country’s low productivity a national emergency and warned that it was “time to break the glass.” She has since stressed the need for more competition and…
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Will Modular Construction Be a Game-Changer? Part 3 – The Scale Challenge
In this final article of our three-part series, we examine why, despite its promise, modular construction faces fundamental obstacles that limit its potential to transform the housing market—and why scale remains the biggest barrier. In The Origins of Efficiency, Brian Potter explains that improvements in production efficiency—rather than singular inventions—are the main driver of abundance….
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Strong Jobs Numbers Likely to Keep Bank of Canada on Hold
Canadian payrolls continued to grow in October, building on September’s gains and more than offsetting the back‑to‑back job losses seen over the summer. Growth was concentrated in trade‑impacted sectors, with transportation and warehousing, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing all posting increases. However, October’s hiring spree was driven largely by part‑time work, which added 85,100…
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Will Modular Construction Be a Game-Changer? Part 2 – Lessons from the U.S. Experience
Canada’s housing crisis has renewed interest in modular construction as a way to build homes faster, more affordably, and at scale. In this second article of our three-part series, we turn to the United States to understand what decades of experimentation with modular housing can teach us. For nearly 80 years, U.S. policymakers and industry…
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