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There’s scant evidence that relying on new construction would successfully address housing affordability, particularly for those experiencing homelessness. U.K. studies are instructive: building in England would only cut house prices by about 10 per cent over 20 years, while build-to-rent schemes actually increased housing costs in cities like Manchester.

So what impact will Carney’s new builds have? Even if they deliver a 10 per cent price reduction, º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøaverage home prices would drop to $1.08 million. Still prohibitively expensive for most Canadians and when measured against housing need, it is simply not enough.

reports that about 250,000 households are waiting for social housing, and conservative estimates suggest more than 260,000 people are experiencing homelessness. There is simply no way to build enough new homes cheaply, quickly, and sustainably at sufficient scale to meet this demand.

Beyond these economic realities, the build-build-build approach is dangerous for the planet. The construction sector accounts for 37 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and new construction generates embodied carbon emissions that can take up to 80 years to offset. While some new construction will be necessary why not use Canada’s vast and underutilized existing building stock?

The scale of this untapped resource is staggering. According to a , 8.7 per cent of homes — 1.34 million units — sit vacant across the country. In the Greater Toronto/Hamilton area alone, condos in distress offer up to 42,000 immediate opportunities to meet housing needs.

Beyond these empty homes, reports that over 100,000 short-term rental units could become long-term dwellings with proper regulation. This would not just address supply, it would make things more affordable given that every percentage point increase in STRs in a rental market is associated with a 2.3 per cent increase in rents. 

Opportunities extend far beyond these units. Working with owners of empty rental properties to provide guarantees and wraparound supports could unlock thousands more units for deeply affordable or supportive housing, directly addressing homelessness. Municipalities and non-profits are already pursuing such arrangements but need federal backing to break through.

Even within our existing social housing stock, there’s room for better utilization. A Nova Scotia Auditor General report revealed that over 1,500 of the province’s 11,000 public housing units were underutilized, often because tenants were living in spaces that no longer matched their household size.

Perhaps the most promising avenue lies in adaptive reuse of commercial buildings. With office vacancy rates around 18 to 19 per cent nationwide, converting existing buildings can deliver homes 50 to 75 per cent faster than new construction while reducing emissions by the same percentage.

Adaptive reuse can house people in months, not years and conversions into mixed-income housing revitalize struggling downtown cores, create green jobs in retrofitting, and allow historic schools, government buildings, and institutional facilities to become housing while preserving architectural heritage.

Using existing stock represents the only true path to green housing, almost entirely avoiding the embodied carbon emissions. This goes far beyond the marginal promise of lowering emissions by 20 per cent through modular and mass timber construction. This is a true reimagining of how we approach the housing crisis.

Carney’s appointment of Ana Bailão as CEO is encouraging — her innovative work as Toronto’s deputy mayor for housing suggests the creative thinking this crisis demands. But if this government is truly committed to meeting the moment quickly and effectively while causing the least harm to the planet, they need new strategies that go beyond building more supply.

Our message to Bailão is simple: the solution to Canada’s housing crisis has already been built. It is just waiting to be unlocked.