Photo Credit: Housing Ontario 1025
On June 16, 2023, Canada?s population reached 40 million, a historic milestone for the country. Sixteen weeks later, on October 1, 2023, Statistics Canada dutifully reported that our population increased yet another 528,396, a stunning spike. This exponential surge has triggered a fierce debate over Canada?s already acute national housing shortage.  A national housing crisis has been declared. The housing supply gap has been quantified by Canada?s Housing Agency (CMHC). We need an additional 3.5 million residential units by 2030.
Remarkably, our national, provincial, and municipal authorities have seemingly agreed on strategies to treat our immediate housing trauma, but what is our strategy for accommodating the flood of future arrivals that will increase Canada?s population by at least another 16 million by 2068" (or 34 million at the current rate). The question of how we house our growing population begs a related but unasked question. Since 81.75 per cent of Canadians are urbanites, what is our overall national strategy for where our growing population should live"  
We dwell in our cities as well as our dwellings. Which cities will be home to our next 16 million Canadians when we celebrate Canada?s Bicentennial in 2067" Shall we take a laissez-faire approach" Shall we rely on the diktats of our provincial governments (who might fill our greenbelts with homes) or our municipalities (who are struggling with parochi...