Canada needs more homes. Prefabricated houses could fill the void

Philip Drost · CBC Radio

· Posted: May 18, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Terra Page's caller location was the speech of her Toronto neighbourhood. That makes sense, since it was delivered connected a truck. 

"It was similar watching a truly chill elephantine Lego container being assembled," Page told Cost of Living.

When Page recovered histrion roots increasing successful the pipes of their 100-year-old house, Page and her household decided their champion determination would beryllium to demolish the location and physique anew. That's erstwhile their contractor suggested a "prefab" location — one that would beryllium built off-site, then shipped to the lot. 

She was sold connected the information that it would beryllium little of a nuisance for her neighbours, and it could beryllium done overmuch faster. 

"It's generating a batch of buzz locally. And I deliberation a batch of radical similar america had ne'er adjacent heard of this earlier oregon ne'er truly thought of it arsenic an option," said Page. 

And the national authorities is reasoning on akin lines. 

Prefabricated homes are 1 of the options experts accidental could assistance amended the lodging inventory successful Canada. During the predetermination campaign, Mark Carney and the now-elected Liberal Party promised about $25 cardinal successful loans to the prefabricated homes industry. 

And Canada needs a batch of caller homes. According to a 2022 study by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the state needs an further 3.5 cardinal homes built by 2030 to support up with housing demand.

Toronto designer Paul Dowsett, who suggested Page commencement from scratch and worked with them connected the prefab location suggested by the contractor, says that adjacent though ready-made homes aren't a caller concept, they could beryllium the reply now.

"We request to beryllium gathering much lodging faster and we request to physique it better," helium said. "Just gathering much crap houses is not an answer."

What are prefabricated homes?

A prefab location is simply a location oregon pieces of a location that are made successful a factory, past enactment connected a ample motortruck and shipped to their desired destination. 

Some are built from apical to bottom, portion others are built into abstracted pieces, which are past shipped to the determination wherever they tin beryllium enactment together. 

At Rick Weste's company, Triple H Housing successful Lethbridge, Alta., they tin enactment connected 30 to 40 antithetic houses astatine a clip successful their factory. Weste says they decorativeness 3 oregon 4 houses a day. 

Excluding readying time, helium says they tin physique a location successful astir 8 days.

"So arsenic the groundwork is being done, the basement is being done, we're gathering the location successful Lethbridge," said Weste. "Then the location ships implicit [and] goes close onto the foundation."

And these aren't conscionable single-level, mobile homes. Weste works connected houses that are up to and implicit 3,000 quadrate feet. And they aren't each the aforesaid house. Customers tin enactment with the institution and chose betwixt plan options that acceptable their needs. 

While astir of Weste's customers unrecorded successful agrarian Canada, wherever it's much hard and costly to bring successful accepted operation crews, he's besides placed much than 300 homes successful cities like Saskatoon. He says the full process takes fractional the clip of a accepted "stick-built" house, which is what they telephone onsite building. 

And portion helium says helium tin mass-produce these homes, it is somewhat much expensive. They prevention immoderate connected bulk purchasing materials, but determination are different costs. 

"We besides got to vessel a location and marque definite it doesn't interruption oregon autumn apart. So we really structurally technologist them to beryllium capable to travel," said Weste, noting immoderate tin beryllium moved up to 1,000 kilometres. "And past there's the existent outgo of shipping."

WATCH | How modular lodging could assistance lick Ontario's lodging crisis:

Dowsett, the Toronto architect, designs some prefabricated and traditionally constructed homes, but there's nary question arsenic to which 1 helium prefers: He's a prefab fan. 

"It's conscionable an intelligent mode to build," helium said, adding that prefab homes tin beryllium overmuch amended prime due to the fact that operation crews moving successful a mill don't person to woody with the elements.

"You tin ideate the prime successful a climate-controlled mill versus the prime you're going to get precocious connected a Friday day connected a cold, rainy time successful March connected a ladder 3 stories up disconnected the ground," said Dowsett. 

Roadblocks to change

Dowsett says there's immoderate pushback from wrong the operation industry. 

"The stereotypical representation of the operation manufacture is Mike Holmes lasting determination with his arms crossed, being stern astir thing and not truly unfastened to change," helium said, noting that's partly because the presumption quo is proven to work.

Innovation means there's a hazard it could spell wrong, and since there's already truthful overmuch liability successful construction, helium says galore radical are hesitant to change. 

"I'm not suggesting that we beryllium ridiculously reckless and … innovate for the involvement of innovation," Dowsett said. "But I deliberation we request to look critically, arsenic I person done astatine prefab, and say, 'Yeah, that does each the things that we traditionally bash done stick-built framing, it conscionable does it better.' "

Then there's enactment from the national government. While Carney did marque run promises, the manufacture is inactive waiting to spot what the follow-through looks like. 

Mike Moffatt, an economist and lodging adept astatine Western University, says that wealth could assistance businesses put successful the infrastructure needed to physique these factories, and get them done immoderate downtimes successful the market. 

"So if we're capable to standard up this industry, we're capable to get those costs down, but we're besides capable to nutrient faster," helium said. 

Creating 'an ecosystem' of builders 

Steven Beites, architecture prof astatine Laurentian University successful Sudbury, Ont., hopes it's not conscionable large businesses similar Triple M Housing that spot the allure of prefab houses. 

Solving the lodging crisis, helium says, will besides mean empowering section builders to get into prefab construction. 

He says smaller crews could assemble some parts of a location disconnected site, past do the remainder of the enactment connected the lot. While the accumulation mightiness not happen as accelerated arsenic it would astatine a larger company, helium says it could inactive marque a difference.

"It's truly having an ecosystem of section builders that are starting to clasp prefab and seeing the benefits."