In our new Emerging Voices series by students, this is the last of five articles by students at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.

Nimmi Hamid 

June 29, 2022 

The housing and climate change crises are wreaking havoc on the Canadian economy. On the one hand, the country is losing affordable housing units faster than new ones are being built. On the other hand, it is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Among all the G7 countries, Canada has the lowest population-adjusted housing stock, and it is the only nation whose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have increased since the Paris Agreement. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to acknowledge that these two crises must be tackled together.

The federal government aims to develop about 82,100 additional affordable housing units over the next 10 years as part of the $72 billion National Housing Strategy. It seeks to provide affordable support to millions of households as well as to renovate existing units. The government also aspires to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to cut GHG emissions by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

While the Budget 2022 housing initiatives have put Canada on track toward increasing its housing supply over the next decade, they do not specify the number of new units that must meet the energy efficiency standard. The government has also set aside $4.3 billion over the next seven years to “improve and expand” housing for Indigenous Canadians. However, it does not indicate how Indigenous housing plans would account for climate change and green premiums, which demand substantial funding.

The construction industry is responsible for 17 percent of the country’s GHG emissions and evidence shows that Canada is not on track to meet its climate change objectives by 2030. Therefore, expanding the supply of houses without addressing energy efficiency would drive the government further away from reaching its climate change obligations.

In the short term, boosting the housing supply by building new houses and repairing existing ones may ease the most severe effects of affordable housing challenges, including but not limited to homelessness. However, failing to assure the energy efficiency of new and existing homes today will only cost Canadians more in the long run.

It is estimated that homelessness costs the country more than $7 billion each year, and that dealing with the source instead of the symptoms is not only better for individuals but is less expensive. The suffering – both physical and emotional – of not only the individuals experiencing homelessness but their families is a public loss and a public cost. Ultimately, the expense of dealing with these repercussions through health insurance, courts, police, correctional personnel, and prisons –  as well as lost educational opportunities and work productivity – are paid for by society.

However, expanding housing stock while ignoring climate change will only aggravate the problem.  Only last year, Canada endured heat waves, catastrophic floods, and an entire town in British Columbia burning down from wildfires. While the effects of climate change are already being felt in a variety of ways, continuing on the current path will further exacerbate climatic catastrophes and soon outpace the possibility to recover or adapt. As more Canadians become displaced by climate change, the difficulty they encounter in finding adequate housing will only worsen. Additionally, data suggest that if Canada does not develop a domestic plan to combat global warming, GHG emissions may cost the economy up to $43 billion per year by 2050.

How the Canadian government responds to housing and climate change today will define quality of life and economic stability in the country tomorrow. The government’s current pledges are insufficient to meet long-term climate objectives. It must wield greater power and act more urgently to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy and towards greening the housing sector.

Integrating climate change and housing into public policy planning is more important than ever before to ensure that both our institutions and people are equipped to confront the interconnected challenges of the future, short and long-term, while also being able to seize new opportunities.

Nimmi Hamid is a Master’s student at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and has an academic background in Economics from Sarah Lawrence College. She has worked in both the global north and global south with international organizations, NGOs, and government agencies focusing on displaced and marginalized communities.