Ontario’s housing shortage is worse than ever.
It has never been harder to find an affordable place to live. And it’s because Ontario is not building enough homes to meet demand.
Ontario’s laws have made it extremely difficult to build the kinds of homes that can keep up with our growing needs: family-sized homes inside existing residential neighbourhoods, close to work, school, friends and family.
Instead, current laws restrict most construction to two extremes – tiny highrise condos too small for families or pricey suburban houses far away from the places we already spend our time.
How Did We Get Here?
What is Sprawl — and How Can We Spot It?
We can’t end Ontario’s housing crisis without building more homes faster and at a lower cost. The problem is, for decades Ontario has focused on the least efficient, most expensive approach: sprawl.
Why Isn't Sprawl Working?
Sprawl development is not efficient enough to deliver the huge numbers of new family-sized homes we need. By prioritizing sprawl, governments have missed the biggest opportunity to get more homes built.
How Do We Build More Homes?
Building More Efficiently in Existing Neighbourhoods
Building more kinds of homes (think fourplexes and midrises) inside existing residential neighbourhoods is the only way to end Ontario’s housing shortage. It’s the key to building more homes faster and for lower costs. It’s also better for our health, our environment and our wallets. It reduces car dependency, protects farmland, and strengthens local food security. It creates walkable, connected communities with easy access to services, while saving taxpayers money by using existing infrastructure.
The result? Strong and affordable communities where people thrive.
What Do Governments Need to Do?
We need all levels of government to take action and prioritize building more mid-rise housing in existing residential neighbourhoods.
Right now, builders are faced with disproportionate obstacles and barriers that make mid-rise housing needlessly expensive and time-consuming. The same goes for the most viable kind of “missing middle” housing – four-story “multiplex” apartment buildings. If the playing field were level, mid-rise housing would be the fastest, most cost-effective and most sustainable way to build more homes.
In order to make that a reality, governments must:
Check out our report, the Mid-Rise Manual, for a deep dive on steps that federal, provincial and municipal decision-makers can take to fix the housing shortage.
Take Action
In order for Ontario to be a place young people can actually afford to live, we need to build more kinds of affordable, family-friendly housing in our existing communities.
It’s the only way to end Ontario’s housing shortage and build more homes quickly and efficiently.
Help legalize mid-rise where you live by sending a letter to your MPP and key elected officials in the federal, provincial and and municipal governments based on your postal code.
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