Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation鈥檚 latest report highlights a couple of little-discussed problems behind Canada鈥檚 ongoing housing crisis.
We鈥檝e all heard about how long it takes to get a housing permit, about the cost of materials and land, and about how difficult it is to find enough workers.
One thing the report highlights is just how many people are involved in the construction industry in Canada.
According to the report, authored by CMHC vice president Mathieu Laberge, there are 650,000 people working in the homebuilding industry. With a population of around 40 million people, that鈥檚 more than 1.6 per cent of the country鈥檚 total population.
Laberge also notes that the efficiency of those workers has declined. Go back 20 years, and more homes were being built per worker.
Some comes down to inefficiencies at the institutional level, but Laberge points out that major efforts are underway to fix that side of things. From local councils to B.C.鈥檚 housing reforms to Ottawa鈥檚 Housing Accelerator program, cities are cutting red tape, speeding up approvals, and increasing density.
But that won鈥檛 do it all.
The CMHC report points out that the Canadian construction industry is made up of countless tiny businesses. Across the country, 69 per cent of homebuilding businesses have five or fewer employees.
Bigger firms might find more efficiencies, Laberge suggests.
There are some bright spots in the report, including the finding that the number of homes being built per capita is much higher in Calgary and the Vancouver area than in other regions of the country.
If every major centre built homes at the rate of those two cities, Canada would have seen more than 430,000 new units built last year 鈥� almost double the 223,000 that were actually constructed.
However we find greater efficiency 鈥� in design, in modular building, in permitting 鈥� that has to be a big part of getting ourselves out of our housing hole.
Housing is a big employer. But there are plenty of other uses for people who are skilled with tools and trades. Canada鈥檚 overall productivity has been slipping for years. Making homebuilding more efficient will free up workers for plenty of other jobs across the economy.
鈥� M.C.
