As the federal government looks to prefabricated housing to address Canada’s housing crisis, construction innovation experts say the approach needs strategic implementation to succeed.
The recent federal budget earmarked $500 million to support factory-built homes, with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland positioning prefab construction as a way to “build homes faster and at lower cost.” The plan aims to accelerate housing supply across the country where shortages have pushed affordability to crisis levels.
Dr. Kasun Hewage, a professor at UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering, believes prefabrication technology offers significant advantages but cautions against viewing it as a silver bullet solution.
“Factory-built homes can reduce construction waste by up to 90% compared to traditional methods,” Hewage told me during an interview at his Kelowna research facility. “The controlled environment also means weather delays become almost non-existent, potentially cutting project timelines by 30-50%.”
Hewage’s research team has been tracking construction efficiency across British Columbia for the past decade. Their findings show that modular construction can decrease building costs by 10-20% while maintaining quality standards that meet or exceed traditional building methods.
The concept has already gained traction in parts of Canada. In Kitchener-Waterloo, a 110-unit affordable housing complex was completed in just 11 months using modular techniques – roughly half the time of conventional construction. The project, supported by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, provides housing for approximately 330 residents.
Despite these advantages, implementation faces several hurdles. Building code variations across provinces create regulatory complexity for manufacturers trying to scale nationally. Meanwhile, transportation logistics limit the effective radius for shipping completed modules to roughly 400-500 kilometers from production facilities.
“The economics break down when you’re shipping large modules across multiple provinces,” explains David Foster, spokesperson for the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. “What works in southern Ontario might not be feasible in northern Manitoba without significant adaptation.”
Labour unions have expressed mixed reactions to the prefab push. Dennis Darby of the Carpenters’ Union Local 27 in Toronto acknowledges efficiency benefits but worries about skilled trades displacement. “We need to ensure the shift toward factory production includes comprehensive retraining programs for existing construction workers,” Darby said during recent committee hearings.
The initiative comes as Statistics Canada reports the country needs approximately 3.5 million additional housing units by 2030 to restore affordability. Current construction rates fall about 25% short of this target according to a Royal Bank of Canada economic analysis published last month.
Indigenous communities, particularly in remote northern regions, represent one area where prefab technology shows particular promise. The Assembly of First Nations housing report identified over 85,000 new units needed on reserves, where harsh weather conditions often limit construction seasons to just a few months annually.
“Factory-built solutions could extend our effective building season year-round,” says Matthew Coon Come, former Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees. “But success depends on developing local manufacturing capacity and adapting designs to respect cultural needs and environmental conditions.”
Some municipalities are revising bylaws to accommodate innovative construction. Vancouver recently updated its building code to streamline approvals for prefabricated components, while Toronto launched a pilot program that fast-tracks permit applications for projects using significant off-site construction.
“The regulatory framework hasn’t kept pace with technology,” notes Anne McMullin, president of the Urban Development Institute. “When regulations were written, nobody envisioned entire apartment sections being built in factories.”
For everyday Canadians watching housing prices climb beyond reach, any solution offers hope. In Mississauga, first-time homebuyer Priya Sharma has been house-hunting for two years. “At this point, I don’t care how my future home gets built as long as it’s affordable and available soon,” she told me at a recent housing fair showcasing prefab options.
The success of the federal initiative will likely depend on coordination between levels of government, industry, and educational institutions. Several colleges have already launched specialized training programs focused on prefabricated construction techniques.
Dr. Hewage from UBC emphasizes that technology transfer will be crucial. “Countries like Sweden and Japan have been refining these methods for decades. We need to adapt their knowledge to Canadian conditions rather than reinventing the wheel.”
As spring construction season approaches, industry watchers remain cautiously optimistic about prefab’s potential to help ease Canada’s housing crunch – provided implementation addresses the complex interplay of regulation, logistics, and workforce development that will determine whether this building innovation can truly deliver on its promise.
