Federal government wants to change how Canada builds homes

The government of Canada has announced the adoption of new, innovative ways to build high-quality housing, in line with their work to make infrastructure climate resilient, and boost Canada’s housing supply.

Consultations will begin in early January 2024 on a housing design catalogue initiative that will build on the work already being done to address the challenges facing the housing sector. Through these consultations, the government will seek input and expertise from partners and stakeholders across the housing sector.

The new initiative will help accelerate the delivery of homes by standardizing housing designs, starting with low-rise construction and will also explore a potential catalogue to support higher density construction, such as mid-rise buildings, and different forms of housing construction, such as modular and prefabricated homes. The government will also look at ways to support municipalities, provinces and territories looking to implement their own housing design catalogues.