New report proposes unique solution to Canada’s housing shortage

By Peter Caulfield
The Journal of Commerce
June 2, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canadian wood producers and manufacturers say they know how to solve the country’s housing shortage and, at the same time, increase demand in the construction industry for their products. The “two-fer” solution is laid out in a recent report published by the Canada West Foundation. The report is based on a December 2025 roundtable at which the Canadian Wood Council and the Forest Products Association of Canada convened leaders from construction and forestry to discuss how to increase the use of wood products in prefabricated, modular and panelized wood construction in residential multi-storey buildings. In the CWF report, these methods of construction are identified collectively as Modern Methods of Construction, or MMC. Eric Johnson, for FPAC and CWC, says factory-built components make better use of materials and skilled labour, reducing waste and increasing productivity. …The biggest barriers to scaling up wood-based housing are not technical but regulatory and organizational.

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