Alberta's D+ grade on housing report card is lowest among provinces

CTV News

2 days ago

Alberta is ranked dead last in Canada in a new report evaluating home building progress.
Alberta is ranked dead last in Canada in a new report evaluating home building progress.
Alberta received the lowest grade among Canadian provinces on a report evaluating home building progress.
The Report Card on More and Better Housing gave Alberta an overall score of D+ for 'failing to adopt better building codes, incentivize factory-built housing, and regulate construction in flood-prone areas.'
'This, in spite of smart reforms being implemented by municipal governments in Calgary and Edmonton,' the report reads.
The report card was commissioned by the Task Force for Housing and Climate.
The task force was formed in 2023 to provide practical and actionable advice to governments on housing.
It created the Blueprint for More and Better Housing, offering 'a comprehensive set of more than 140 policy actions for adding 5.8 million homes by 2030 that are affordable, low carbon and resilient.'
'Provincial governments control the bulk of housing policy tools and must step up,' said Dr. Mike Moffatt, a task force member and author of the report card.
'Provinces often speak about the housing crisis, but many are not walking the talk. Without meaningful reform from all orders of government, we won't build the homes Canadians need.'
The federal government earned the highest grade on the report card, with a B.
The report says the federal government adopted key recommendations, including 'federal tax incentives for rental construction, leasing of federal land for housing, and incentivizing municipal zoning reforms, which are having a positive impact on housing supply.'
The provincial and federal governments were evaluated based on five categories relative to the task force's blueprint:
Legalize density;
Implement better building codes;
Invest in factory-built housing;
Avoid high-risk areas; and
Fill in market gaps.
'Alberta has done less to legalize family-friendly density than other provinces and is lagging on resiliency and energy efficiency,' the report reads.
No province received a grade higher than a C+.
Quebec, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia all scored a C+, while New Brunswick and Ontario got Cs.
Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba all got a C-, while Alberta sat alone with a D+.
'Calgary and Edmonton have taken leadership and instituted several helpful reforms on issues ranging from zoning to approval processes. Work on adopting these provincewide. Institute hazard mapping reforms and ensure homes are not built in areas prone to floods and wildfires,' the report said.
The group on the task force is bipartisan, with former Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and former Conservative Cabinet Minister Lisa Raitt involved.
Mark Carney was a member of the group before he became the leader of the Liberal party.
Read the full report on the task force's website.