Building Canada’s housing future will take capital and collaboration

A strong housing system is foundational to Canada’s economic future. It supports growing communities, workforce mobility, and helps businesses, investment and the economy thrive. 

Addressing Canada’s housing needs will take more than any one policy, sector or organization. It requires collaboration across government, the building and development industry, financial institutions and investors to create the conditions for more housing to be built and more capital to be put to work. 

That’s why BMO teamed up with leaders from Canada’s largest real estate developers and banks to form the National Housing and Investment Initiative (NHII), a group that supports the federal government to develop practical solutions for a more affordable housing market.  

The NHII’s “Recommendations for a Sustainable Canadian Housing Market” report, released today, advances 29 proposals across four interconnected areas: attracting long-term investment, credit risk management, greater predictability between immigration and housing needs, and better data for decision-making.  

"Canada’s housing challenge is both an economic and a community issue, and addressing it will require all of us to play a role,” said Sharon Haward-Laird, Group Head, Canadian Commercial Banking & North American Integrated Solutions, BMO Financial Group. “Bringing together government, industry and financial expertise can help unlock investment, increase housing supply and build stronger communities."

Sharon Haward-Laird represented BMO in the initiative, supported by expertise from across the bank, including Mike Beg, Head, BMO Real Estate Finance, James Burrow, Head of Enterprise Sustainable Finance Solutions, and others who contributed to the report.  

Attracting more long-term investment is a central theme of the report. Its recommendations consider how Canada can create an environment that helps mobilize the significant capital required to address the country’s housing needs.

For BMO, the connection between housing, investment and economic resilience is an important one. BMO works with developers, investors and businesses across Canada, bringing financing expertise and access to capital to help clients pursue opportunities and bring projects forward. 

Increasing Canada’s housing supply requires significant investment,” said Mike Beg, Head, Real Estate Finance, BMO Financial Group. “Creating greater certainty can help attract long-term capital and give developers and investors the confidence to move projects forward. That will be critical to increasing supply over time."

Sustainable finance can also be part of the solution. BMO’s Sustainable & Climate Finance Framework recognizes qualifying affordable housing as an eligible activity, and BMO’s Sustainable Finance team works to bring innovative lending structures to clients who are addressing Canada’s housing affordability challenge.  

Together, these capabilities give BMO an important perspective on a central question facing Canada’s housing market: how to create the conditions to mobilize more capital and translate investment into greater housing supply. 

The NHII report is one contribution to a much larger conversation about Canada’s housing future. 

Later this month, BMO will continue that conversation by convening an invitation-only forum bringing together leaders from government, housing, finance, development and other sectors to exchange perspectives on housing supply, affordability and investment. The forum reflects BMO’s belief that progress will depend on bringing different parts of the housing ecosystem together around practical solutions.  

For BMO, the opportunity is to contribute financial and industry expertise, help clients access and mobilize capital, and bring people together around the shared goal of building a more resilient housing system and a stronger Canada. 

Read the full Recommendations for a Sustainable Canadian Housing Market report at BILD.