In late October, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) hosted its 40th annual Political Action Committee (PAC) Days in Ottawa. PAC Days is an event where REALTOR® volunteers and Government Relations staff from every province meet with their local Members of Parliament (MPs) to discuss advocacy issues developed by CREA.

Given the federal election earlier this year, this was an opportunity to share recommendations that can shape existing and emerging federal programs aimed at improving housing affordability. Additionally, PAC Days includes several days of programming on effective advocacy, polling trends, the federal political media landscape, and other information sessions. 

REALTORS® brought two recommendations to their MPs, both related to missing-middle housing and overall housing supply. Missing-middle housing is a range of multi-unit housing types that are gentle- to medium-density, including duplexes, townhouses, and low-rise apartments.

Federal Levers

The first recommendation was to leverage all federal levers to unlock housing supply. REALTORS® asked the federal government and opposition parties to speed up building more missing-middle homes by setting clear, measurable housing-delivery targets in all their funding programs and rules.

Infrastructure funding agreements, the Housing Accelerator Fund, and federal transfers should be used to encourage zoning modernization, expedite permitting, and align with national housing goals. 

The intention is not to add bureaucracy or incur additional spending. Instead, the recommendation is to make existing investments work smarter by aligning departments, reducing duplication, and encouraging goal alignment among all levels of government.

Build Canada Homes Funding

The second recommendation REALTORS® brought to their MPs is that the government dedicate a modest share of the Build Canada Homes (BCH) projects to market-based missing-middle housing. 

Non-market housing is a crucial component of the housing continuum that the BCH program intends to address; however, to truly fix Canada’s housing system, federal programs must address the needs of middle-class families who are increasingly locked out of homeownership.

Notably, in some markets, prefabrication can ensure that homes are built faster, at lower cost, and with consistent quality, while maintaining the BCH program’s core focus on deeply affordable housing. 

By embracing a balanced approach, the government can restore hope for the middle class, relieve pressure on rentals, and prove that national leadership can deliver homes for every Canadian. 

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