Laying the Foundation: How Municipalities can Utilize Existing Tools to Boost Housing Supply

Abstract

The current housing crisis has worsened the access to housing as a necessity for many, including society's most vulnerable groups. These groups include seniors, young adults, immigrants, and low-income earners. The housing crisis has been made worse by limited supply, an increase in second home purchasers or other forms of housing speculation, and a lack of purpose-built rentals. This paper explores the federal, provincial, and municipal government interventions to understand what is being done to increase the housing supply. Furthermore, municipal tools such as land-use planning, taxation, and policy direction are explored to see if these methods adequately address the crisis or if more needs to be done. Municipalities have a wide range of available tools, but their effectiveness and implementation may provide more difficult if not done correctly. Subsequently, if these tools are not used correctly, the housing crisis will continue to worsen. When examining the federal and provincial levels and their responses to the housing crisis, key indicators are presented by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Statistics Canada, and the Province of Ontario's Housing Taskforce Report.