Canada is facing a housing crisis of historic proportions. With affordability slipping out of reach for millions and supply lagging far behind demand, we need bold, scalable and sustainable solutions. The federal government’s Build Canada Homes initiative is a promising start and an opportunity to scale up the use of Canadian wood in building construction.

Why wood works

Wood-based modern methods of construction — such as mass timber, panelized systems and modular construction — offers unmatched speed, quality and sustainability. Offsite construction using wood can reduce build times by 20 to 50 per cent, cut material waste by up to 30 per cent and lower embodied carbon emissions by 30 to 60 per cent. These are not marginal gains — they are game-changers.
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Ontario alone has approximately 40 panel and prefab plants capable of supplying 24,000 homes annually. Capacity in British Columbia and Québec is growing rapidly. But without stable demand pipelines and predictable financing, these factories remain underutilized. The Build Canada Homes program can change that by anchoring demand and unlocking investment.