Two Solutions to Revive Canada’s Housing Market

Commentary The Vancouver and Toronto markets, where population centres are geographically confined by virtual urban growth boundaries (UGBs), are at the epicentre of Canada’s housing crisis. Originally established to protect agricultural land from urban expansion, these UGBs have, paradoxically, led to skyrocketing land and housing prices, intensifying the cost-of-living crisis for the middle class. As demonstrated in international research, limiting urban expansion comes at a considerable cost, driving up land (and house) prices. Most of the cost of a house in Vancouver and Toronto is attributed to the value of the land rather than the construction expenses, in contrast to more competitive land markets such as Edmonton or Winnipeg....