Housing and infrastructure for a growing population

Event summary produced by The Globe and Mail Events team. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.

Across the country, Canadians are bearing the brunt of an ongoing and painful housing crisis. As the gap between housing supply and demand continues to grow, one thing remains clear: many homes are needed, but too few are being built. How will Canada find the investments, people and strategies to build housing and critical infrastructure for an expanding population?

To tackle that question The Globe and Mail hosted an event on June 7, featuring experts and leaders in housing, infrastructure, immigration and skills.

Missed the event or would like to view it again? Scroll down to the replay and photo gallery below.

Angela Pacienza, executive editor of The Globe and Mail opened the event before handing off to Mark Wiseman, senior advisor and chairman of Canada with Lazard, and senior advisor, Boston Consulting Group.

Mr. Wiseman shared highlights from Century Initiative’s fourth annual National Scorecard on Canada’s Growth and Productivity, and commented on strategies for a stronger, more competitive Canada. The scorecard measures Canada’s performance on key quality of life and economic indicators. The latest edition showed Canada is on track with certain indicators such as higher education and entrepreneurship, but falling behind with other metrics such as youth wellbeing and productivity.

Following Mr. Wiseman, Dennis Choquette, deputy editor of Report on Business with The Globe and Mail hosted a virtual interview with Mark Carney, chair of Brookfield Asset Management and head of transition investing. Mr. Carney commented on housing development strategies in Canada, along with other risks and opportunities shaping our nation, including artificial intelligence, climate change and economic performance.

Marianne McKenna, founding partner with KPMB Architects then took to the stage to deliver a presentation on community-building and housing for smart growth. Ms. McKenna discussed the role of urban density in driving the availability and affordability of housing, and creating vibrant cities. Following her presentation, she sat down with Alex Bozikovic, staff columnist and architecture critic with The Globe and Mail for a deeper dive.

The national housing crisis is giving rise to questions around the pace of immigration to Canada, and if current and planned levels of population growth are sustainable. Ann Hui, demographics reporter with The Globe and Mail hosted a panel of four experts to delve into that issue. The group discussed if and how Canada can afford to keep growing, and how the housing and infrastructure shortfall are impacting attitudes toward immigration. The panel included:

• The Honourable Hassan Yussuff, Senator, and past president of the Canadian Labour Congress
• Muraly Srinarayanathas, co-founder and executive chairman of 369 Global Inc.
• Anna Triandafyllidou, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University
• Cathie O’Toole, chief administrative officer with Halifax Regional Municipality

The discussion bridged to the next conversation, which focused on strategies to raise the capital and funding to close the sharp gaps in housing and infrastructure in Canada. Organizations from the private, public and non-profit sectors are forging new and innovative partnerships for project construction and asset management. The panel shared examples and discussed how such models could be expanded and replicated.

The discussion, moderated by Petrina Gentile, contributing writer for The Globe and Mail, also covered the shortage of adequate housing in Indigenous communities and approaches to speed projects. The group included:

Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute and professor with the Department of Geography and Planning and University of Toronto

Harold Calla, executive chair, First Nations Financial Management Board

Shormila Chatterjee, vice-president of infrastructure advisory with EY

Suzanne Le, executive director with Multifaith Housing Initiative

Following the panel, Noel Baldwin, interim executive director with Future Skills Centre, spoke about Canada’s current skills gaps and shared examples of projects and initiatives to build a workforce for today and tomorrow.

His comments set the stage for the concluding discussion focused on the labour shortage in Canada’s construction industry, along with solutions to close the gaps. Moderated by Ms. Gentile, the interview featured Geoff Smith, executive chair of the board of directors with EllisDon; and Mike Yorke, owner of Mike Yorke Consulting and past president of the Carpenters District Council of Ontario. The group shared ideas to attract more women, newcomers and other under-represented groups to construction, and the imperative for the industry to embrace innovation as well.

To close out the day, Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada delivered summary remarks, recapping the main takeaways from the event and laying out calls to action for a stronger Canada.

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The Globe and Mail presented the event in partnership with Century Initiative and support from Future Skills Centre, LiUNA OPDC. To learn about upcoming Globe and Mail events please visit www.globeandmail.com/events