Canada’s Timber Moment: CLT As The Fastest Lever for Housing, Jobs, & Climate - CleanTechnica

The article highlights Canada’s urgent need to address two converging crises: a chronic housing shortage and the construction sector’s significant greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from embodied carbon in materials like cement and steel. Traditional site-built construction is insufficient to meet the growing demand for housing, with annual completions far below the 500,000 units needed to stabilize affordability. Additionally, the heavy reliance on concrete and steel in mid-rise residential buildings locks in millions of tons of carbon emissions before occupancy, exacerbating climate challenges. Cross laminated timber (CLT), combined with modular manufacturing, is presented as the fastest and most effective solution to simultaneously increase housing supply, create jobs, and reduce carbon emissions. CLT is a renewable, carbon-storing material that enables industrialized, factory-based production of housing components, significantly accelerating construction timelines by 30 to 50%. This approach transforms housing delivery from a labor-intensive craft into a scalable manufacturing process. Initiatives like Mark Carney’s Build Canada Homes plan and the Transition Accelerator’s