Letter to Mark Carney and Gregor Robertson from 27 'Housing Experts'

In early July, along with a list of respected housing planners and academics including Norm Hotson, Larry Beasley, Chris deMarco, Penny Gurstein, and others, I received an email from Elizabeth Murphy expressing concern about many of the planning initiatives taking place in Vancouver.  She noted that a lot had happened since many of us had sent a group letter to the city expressing concerns about aspects of the Broadway Plan.

The email also noted that staff had just completed a so-called "consultation" on the proposed "Social Housing Initiative" for social and supportive housing that would allow 20 storey towers on many residential streets across the city, without a rezoning and public hearings. This despite the fact that we thought Council had finally come to realize that large scale high-rise supportive housing projects are the wrong model and in some cases 70% of the units could have market rents.

It was therefore believed there was a need for knowledgeable people such as our group to advise government on our views related to long term housing affordability..

The email proposed that maybe it was time for another open letter to all levels of government and follow-up with key officials. This led to the drafting of a letter to Carney and Robertson.

While I was not involved with the drafting, and did not agree with everything in the letter, including an extension of  the foreign buyers ban, opposition to reintroduction of MURBs, and recommendations on how best to finance growth, I agreed with enough of the letter to sign it.

Below is the letter that was sent to Ottawa and publicly shared on The Tyee and elsewhere.

1. Canada’s housing strategy must deliver affordability, not just more supply

Canada’s housing crisis is, above all, a crisis of affordability. Supply has increased significantly in cities like Vancouver — where housing starts have outpaced population growth for decades — yet prices remain disconnected from incomes. Vancouver provides one of the most comprehensive real-world tests of this theory. Between 1960 and 2020, it increased its housing stock by over 200 per cent while population grew by only 78 per cent — more than any other North American central city. Yet its housing affordability declined dramatically, and it now has the highest home-price-to-income ratio on the continent.

This data, drawn from Statistics Canada and U.S. census sources, suggests that increasing housing density alone is insufficient to produce affordability. Without addressing land value inflation, financial speculation and tenure security, supply-side interventions risk worsening the very crisis they aim to solve.

2. Use the market correction as an opportunity, not something to resist

• Do not use public funds to bail out overleveraged speculative developments.
• Do not reintroduce foreign capital or investor demand to reflate prices artificially.
• Take advantage of falling land costs and freed-up skilled labour to invest in non-profit, co-op and public housing that will remain affordable long-term.
• Policy — not just construction — can influence affordability. Recent short-term rental regulations, adjusted immigration targets and demand-side measures have already helped reduce pressure on rents.

3. Public subsidies must deliver public benefit outcomes

• Prioritize federal financing and grants for co-ops, land trusts and non-profits.
• Since CMHC-backed programs like MLI Select are not producing the right kind of supply that is affordable and livable, while it puts CMHC [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.] at undue risk, reconsider if more of CMHC resources should go towards co-op housing with permanent affordable housing instead.
• Require minimum livability standards, especially for family-friendly housing.
• Ensure affordability is defined relative to local incomes, not market medians, and is long-term permanently secured through strong covenants and housing agreements.

4. Preserve what’s affordable, don’t displace it

• Make tenant protection and zero net loss of affordable units, mostly through protecting existing rental buildings from demolition, a condition for accessing federal infrastructure or housing funds.
• Support rehabilitation and retrofits of existing rental buildings as climate-resilient, affordability-preserving alternatives to demolition.
• Recognize the human toll of displacement — the best tenant protections are to protect existing rental buildings.
• Ensure that public funds do not create the wrong kinds of supply that inflate land values and market rents, like CMHC’s MLI Select financing is currently doing, with the impacts on land values of tower development in particular.

5. Reform delivery and financing models to align with residents’ needs

• Provide tax, financing and policy incentives to encourage individual end-users to build more secondary suites and infill developments that can create both more rentals and mortgage helpers.
• Support gentle, ground-oriented density options that better match household needs and local context.
• Avoid making towers the default solution. Towers have their place — particularly in transit-rich areas — but they are not always the best form. The right supply is livable, secure and suited to local neighbourhoods without triggering demovictions.

6. Rebalance costs and benefits between all orders of government

• The costs of growth — especially infrastructure and amenities — should not be downloaded to municipalities (i.e., local taxpayers and communities).
• Tie federal support to reforms that ensure new development pays its fair share for growth-related amenities, transit and public services.

Conclusion: We encourage and support building more affordable livable housing rather than continuing to build the wrong kinds of housing, in the wrong places, for the wrong reasons.

We believe the federal government can lead the way by restoring affordability as the central objective of housing policy.

That means resisting short-term pressure to rescue flawed models and instead embracing long-term investment in public, non-profit and community-led housing.

It also means preserving existing affordability, and building new homes that serve real people, not just markets.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to explore how these strategies can shape a more sustainable and just housing future for all Canadians.

Signed,

David Ley, OC, FRSC, PhD, urban geographer, professor emeritus, UBC;
Christina DeMarco, urban and regional planner, former lead planner for the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy;
Penny Gurstein, PhD, MCIP (retired), professor emeritus and former director, School of Community and Regional Planning, co-director, Housing Research Collaborative, UBC;
Larry Beasley, CM, FCIP, former co-chief planner, City of Vancouver, author, Vancouverism;
Patrick Condon, professor, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, UBC, author, Broken City, former city planner, James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Liveable Environments;
Scot Hein, retired architect, MAIBC, former City of Vancouver and UBC senior urban designer and development planner, adjunct professor, urban design, UBC, SFU Faculty Continuing Studies, founding board member, Urbanarium, board member, Small Housing BC, housing advocate;
Brian Palmquist, award-winning architect and author, AIBC, MRAIC, BEP, CP, LEED AP;
Arny Wise, B.Comm., M.Sc. (planning), U of T, professional planner, MCIP, RPP (retired), board of directors, Toronto Economic Development Corp. (1990-99);
Sean McEwen, architect, AIBC, FRAIC, affordable housing advocate;
Barbara Gordon, retired architect, AIBC, retired director of capital planning, UBC;
Lance Berelowitz, AA Dipl., RPP, MCIP, principal, Urban Forum Associates;
Michael Geller, FCIP, RPP, MLAI, retired architect, AIBC, urban planner, real estate consultant, developer and adjunct professor, SFU;
Elizabeth Murphy, private sector project manager formerly with the City of Vancouver’s housing and properties department, BC Housing and BC Buildings Corp.;
Bill McCreery, B.Arch., UMan, Sub-Lt., RCNR, helped create North and South False Creek and thousands of units of developer and public housing in Vancouver;
Graham McGarva, FRAIC, retired architect, AIBC, MA;
Erick Villagomez, lecturer, School of Community and Regional Planning, UBC, principal, Mētis Design|Build, editor-in-chief, Spacing Vancouver;
Norman Hotson, retired architect, AIBC, FRAIC, RCA, HonPIBC;
Mary Pynenburg, MRAIC (retired), MCIP (retired);
Robert Renger, BES, MCP, consultant city planner, former senior development planner and city’s lead for UniverCity at SFU, City of Burnaby;
Andy Yan, FCIP, RPP, GISP, director, City Program, lifelong learning and associate professor of professional practice, Urban Studies Program, SFU;
Tom Phipps, retired senior planner, City of Vancouver (33 years);
Sandy James, former City of Vancouver city planner, managing director, Walk Metro Vancouver;
Ralph Segal, MAIBC (retired), former chief urban designer, City of Vancouver;
Elvin Wyly, PhD, urban geographer, housing researcher;
Mary Beth Rondeau, retired architect, AIBC, former urban designer, City of Vancouver;
Frank Ducote, principal, Frank Ducote Urban Design, former senior urban designer, City of Vancouver;
David Wong, architect, AIBC, formerly with Engineering and Planning Department, City of Vancouver