spark*activation Advocacy Track: Housing

Full Name
Postal Code
Letter
Dear [representative], 

<p>cc/ Min Tim Hodgson; Min Gregor Robertson; PM Mark Carney</p><p>Canada’s housing crisis has reached a breaking point. One in five Canadians cannot find an affordable place to live, and experts estimate that we must add six million homes by 2030, which would triple today’s construction pace, to restore affordability. </p><p>Prime Minister Carney’s <i>Build Canada Homes</i> plan promises to double annual homebuilding to 500,000 units and unlock $25 billion for innovative, prefabricated construction that prioritizes <strong>Canadian mass-timber and other wood products</strong>. This is the right ambition, but Parliament must ensure it uses the right policy tools to fully deliver on this promise within the next decade. </p><p>Canada’s forest sector is ready to help by supplying factory-built wood systems that <strong>cut construction time, shrink carbon footprints, and reduce on-site waste</strong>. (Mass-timber can lower a building’s upfront carbon by roughly 25 per cent and stores carbon for the life of the structure.) With federal support to scale the sector’s capacity in line with growing domestic demand, our country can become a leader in low-carbon, Made-In-Canada affordable housing solutions. </p><p>To translate federal commitments into homes, please champion the following practical steps: </p><p><strong>Put Canadian wood at the heart of the national housing strategy.</strong> Require federal policies and programs, such as Build Canada Homes, the Housing Accelerator Fund, and CMHC financing, to prioritize mass-timber and other domestically sourced wood solutions for affordable and rapid-build projects. </p><p><strong>Fast-track approvals with a single, harmonized code.</strong> Adopt a <i>performance-based</i> National Building Code that allows safe mass-timber buildings to rise to at least 18 storeys (matching the 2021 International Building Code) and establishes a streamlined, 90-day permitting target for certified prefabricated designs. </p><p><strong>Create “Wood First” incentives.  </strong>Offer bonus incentives or cost-shared grants to developers who use a high proportion of Canadian wood products, modelled on the GST rebate for purpose-built rentals, to close price gaps and accelerate adoption. This could include Mass Timber solutions like cross-laminated timber panels, glulam beams, and the OSB and plywood sheathing already manufactured in communities across Canada.  We should also promote the use of home-grown OSB, engineered wood I-joists, and wood-fibre insulation that keeps mill jobs secure while shaving weeks off project timeline. </p><p><strong>Launch nationally certified prefab typologies.</strong> Fund the Canadian Wood Council and industry partners to develop plug-and-play mass-timber apartment templates that municipalities can approve in weeks, not months. </p><p><strong>Train the next generation of builders.</strong> Invest part of Build Canada Homes’ $25 billion envelope in apprenticeship streams focused on mass-timber manufacturing, digital design, and rapid on-site assembly, especially in Indigenous and rural communities that are interested in hosting new prefab plants. </p><p>These steps will help deliver more homes faster, while supporting Canadian jobs, reducing construction emissions, and utilizing sustainable forest resources that communities already trust. </p><p>As your constituent, I urge you to press Cabinet colleagues and the Prime Minister to embed these wood-forward measures in forthcoming housing legislation and budget allocations. </p><p>Thank you for your leadership on this urgent issue. </p>
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