How the feds could push cities to build more homes -- with a carrot or stick

From local zoning to community consultations, there are plenty of ways cities are hitting the brakes on residential construction, even as Canada faces a significant housing shortage.

From local zoning to community consultations, there are plenty of ways cities are hitting the brakes on residential construction, even as Canada faces a significant housing shortage.

According to the Canadian Home Builders' Association, average municipal approval timelines for housing projects in 2022 spanned from three months to nearly three years, depending on the city.

That's why encouraging municipalities to build more homes, more quickly, is becoming a major focus of federal housing policy, as well as the politics around it.

The $4-billion Housing Accelerator Fund launched in June is a prime example of how the federal government plans to influence change at the municipal level.

Through the program, which runs through to 2026-27, municipalities territories and Indigenous governments can apply for extra funding to help boost housing supply. The Liberal government has said it would expedite the building of 100,000 new homes across the country.

"Although we may not have the technical responsibility to adjust municipal zoning bylaws, for example, we can create financial incentives for municipalities to do that," federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Leveraging federal dollars to encourage more housing to be built is also something Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for, although his approach, and his rhetoric, has been more adversarial.