This past week saw the introduction of the Build Canada Homes Act. This legislation establishes Build Canada Homes (BCH) as a permanent Crown corporation, with a mandate to deliver new affordable housing and drive innovation and demand for made-in-Canada products and materials. Nonetheless, as the Pembina Institute’s Reframed Initiative has highlighted, retrofitting existing low-rise multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) is critical to maintaining and preserving Canada’s affordable housing stock.
With over 600,000 units of social housing in Canada, a large number of which need to be retrofit every year, it’s clear that ensuring the long-term viability of these buildings is key to protecting housing affordability in existing buildings. In recognizing retrofits in the BCH mandate, both non-market and market-rate MURBs can benefit from improved supply chain coordination, and innovative ways to reduce the high upfront costs and complexity of retrofits. More broadly, BCH can signal that both new and existing housing are part of a holistic, nation-building approach, and position retrofits as a public investment that is integral to both growing our housing supply and protecting affordability.
Alongside newly constructed housing, existing buildings have vast potential as a nation-building, made-in-Canada resource. Including a long-term plan for retrofits in BCH delivers access to an integrated prefabricated materials stream, spurs innovation in retrofit components and assemblies, and centralizes labour and designs. All of which is needed to ensure both new and existing buildings meet their potential as a core component of Canada’s nation-building agenda.
Drive affordability through a focus on MURBs
New or existing, housing is housing. As BCH strives to meet our housing supply challenge, we need to protect our aging, existing housing, particularly MURBs. Older, low-rise multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs), built through federal government housing programs decades ago, are most at risk of being torn down and replaced. Low-rise MURBs make up approximately 40 per cent of rental homes in Canada, and this aging stock is often the most affordable housing for low-income and vulnerable residents. Much of this building stock has served Canadian households for nearly five decades and − to continue to ensure it remains a safe, healthy and affordable option for decades to come − will require rejuvenation through retrofits. If included in BCH, existing housing becomes a core priority for the organization and is provided resources that will enable the scale and scope of retrofit activity required, and act as a multiplier for innovation in retrofit activity.
Leverage BCH to deliver retrofits at scale
Preparing BCH to operate as a standalone agency has been a long process. This highlights the inherent challenge in coordinating a multitude of investors, expertise, facilities, supply chains, and a development pipeline. Providing a similar offering for existing housing retrofits would entail similar challenges − albeit for a much more distributed, less centralized retrofit ecosystem − and would dilute the buildings sector’s resources and efforts.
Avoid sector competition through an integrated prefabricated materials stream
The BCH delivery approach will likely use several regional prefabrication centres and factories. Given transportation needs and access to materials and labour, they will need to be located close to our limited, large urban centres. Setting up separate retrofit-focused centres would place them in direct competition with new construction facilities for sites, labour resources and materials.
Support long-term project demand through retrofit components and assemblies
Developing and delivering a long-term pipeline of new construction projects at the level needed to justify start-up investments and payback timelines (15-20 years) is challenging. Bolstering this demand pipeline with a long-term plan to include retrofit components and assemblies − ranging from panelized units that can add density to existing buildings undergoing retrofits, to pre-insulated ducts or bulkheads, plug-and-play electrical components and multi-trade assemblies − will deliver long-term demand.
Centralize labour and designs to enhance innovation
In addition to materials and supplies, centralizing labour and designs through BCH can contribute to supply chain coordination, accelerate the development of low-embodied carbon materials and deliver cost compression across both new construction and retrofits. And, when coordinated with initiatives like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) Housing Design Catalogue, this approach provides an opportunity to spur innovation in panelization and retrofits.
What comes next
Despite the high upfront costs of retrofits in MURBs, preparing these buildings to serve their communities for decades to come is an affordable approach that enhances livability and reduces climate risk.
Including a long‑term plan for retrofits in BCH delivers access to an integrated prefabricated materials stream, spurs innovation in retrofit components and assemblies, and centralizes labour and designs. By signaling a role for retrofits in BCH, we can consolidate retrofit activity and innovation and ensure both new and existing buildings meet their potential as a nation-building, made-in-Canada resource.
