How Carney’s Housing Initiative Can Industrialize Canada’s Mass Timber Sector - CleanTechnica

Canada faces a severe housing affordability crisis intertwined with its climate commitments, as traditional construction methods using concrete and steel lock in high greenhouse gas emissions. Mark Carney’s Build Canada Homes initiative aims to address both issues by targeting the construction of 500,000 new homes annually using modular and mass timber (cross-laminated timber, CLT) methods. The initiative pairs this target with low-cost loans, equity support, and standardized design templates to promote faster, higher-quality, and more sustainable construction. However, past attempts at modular building in Canada have struggled due to focusing on detached homes, fluctuating demand, and slow, inconsistent municipal permitting processes. The article argues that for the initiative to succeed, the government must act as a stable, guaranteed buyer by issuing multi-year offtake contracts to modular and CLT factories, ensuring steady demand and high factory utilization. It should also publish pre-approved design templates for mid-rise multifamily housing (six to twelve storeys) and fast-track permitting for projects using