CANADA'S HOUSING
PROBLEM
Housing is increasingly out of reach as development costs soar, timelines stretch, and aging commercial buildings drain life from once-thriving neighbourhoods. At the same time, policy and capital markets now demand low-carbon, net-zero buildings built faster, are smarter, and more resilient to changing market and climatic conditions. Haven sits at the intersection of these pressures—ready to meet the moment.
The Math No Longer Works
Housing development in Canada has hit a breaking point as layered costs—from land costs, to soft costs, to hard costs, to financing costs regulatory fees, and stalled revenues—have broken proformas. Even well-located, well-conceived projects are stalling because they simply don’t pencil out. With interest rates in flux, material and labour costs rising, and global price uncertainty shaking confidence, developers are sitting on the sidelines instead of breaking ground. The result? Fewer housing starts, a widening supply gap in every major market. To get homes built, the risk is compromising quality, resilience, or design that communities actually need.
Too Long & Too Risky
Even when projects clear the financial bar, they enter a years-long slog before delivering a single home. Entitlement processes alone can take 14 to 24 months—if there are no delays, appeals, or procedural setbacks. Design phases are just as intensive, often stretching 8 to 12 months for site-specific plans that start from scratch every time. But the real bottleneck is construction: digging foundations, shoring, and bringing a site up to grade can take 1 to 2 years—before vertical construction even begins. Add another 1 to 2 years for the full tower build, and it's clear why traditional delivery models are failing to keep pace with the urgency of today's housing needs.
The Hollowing Out of
Our Cities
Across Canada, once-busy commercial buildings sit mostly empty—30% to 80% vacant in many cases—as tenants flee aging Class B and C offices that no longer meet modern expectations for quality, flexibility, or amenities. Built between the 1950s and 1990s, these towers have slipped into functional obsolescence, unable to compete with new supply or justify reinvestment. But beyond the vacancy rates, these buildings are leaving a deeper mark: a quiet erosion of neighbourhood vibrancy. In many well-located, amenity-rich areas, the absence of daily foot traffic and commercial activity is draining energy from the public realm and holding back local economic renewal.
High Performance Is
Table Stakes
The development landscape has fundamentally shifted. Policy, capital, and public expectation now converge around one clear standard: housing must be efficient, comfortable, climate-resilient, and affordable. Investors are aligning with ESG mandates, lenders are factoring climate risk into financing, and governments at every level are tightening requirements around emissions, embodied carbon, and long-term sustainability. Facilitators like the Canada Infrastructure Bank, CMHC, and municipal incentive programs are reinforcing this shift through targeted financing tools. Tenants themselves now expect healthier, greener buildings as the default—not the exception. What was once a competitive edge is now the cost of entry.