29 May 2025, OTTAWA, ON  — Canada must build millions more homes in the next five years to solve the affordability crisis, yet a new report card gives provincial governments dismal marks in implementing the reforms needed to achieve this goal.  

The Report Card on More and Better Housing, which grades provincial and federal governments on their progress relative to the 140 policy recommendations made by the Task Force for Housing & Climate last year. No province scored above a “C+”. Quebec scored a C+ overall, though with poor scores in Legalizing Density and Better Building Codes. 

“Canada needs more homes, and they must be homes that meet the needs of today— affordable, climate aligned, and resilient to floods, wildfires and extreme heat,” said the Honourable Lisa Raitt, former deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and co-chair of the Task Force for Housing and Climate, which commissioned the report. “Currently, no government is doing enough to get these homes built.” 

“Provincial governments control the bulk of housing policy tools and must step up,” added Dr. Mike Moffatt, founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative, a Task Force member, and author of the report card. “Provinces often speak about the housing crisis, but many are not walking the talk. Without meaningful reform from all orders of government, we won’t build the homes Canadians need.”

The Report Card grades federal and provincial governments according to five criteria identified by the Task Force for Housing and Climate in 2024 for addressing Canada’s housing affordability crisis: legalizing density, improving building codes, accelerating factory-built housing, avoiding building in high-risk areas, and filling in market gaps. 

The federal government earned the highest overall grade of “B” for having adopted several key recommendations made by the Task Force, including federal tax incentives for rental construction, leasing of federal land for housing, and incentivizing municipal zoning reforms, which are having a positive impact on housing supply.

Provincial governments—which control key levers such as the laws governing development charges, building codes, and municipal compliance—have made uneven progress. 

• Quebec earned a “C+” overall, but scored highly (B+) in Avoiding High Risk Areas. has some of the strongest prohibitions against building in flood-prone areas. In June 2024, the province published draft regulations that expand areas subject to flood protection by 30 to 40%.
• British Columbia, which earned a “C+”, has introduced bold reforms like single-egress apartment legalization, but rising municipal fees and long approval delays have dampened progress. 
• Ontario, which earned a “C”, has made progress in building homes in safer areas, but scored poorly in adding affordable housing, in legalizing density with higher unit maximums, and in reining in sky-high development charges.
• Alberta’s provincial government earned the lowest overall grade with a “D+” for failing to adopt better building codes, incentivize factory-built housing, and regulate construction in flood-prone areas. This, in spite of smart reforms being implemented by municipal governments in Calgary and Edmonton.

“Provincial reforms are often accompanied by poison pills, like height maximums, high taxes, and slow approval times, which render these reforms ineffective,” noted Dr. Mike Moffatt.  “As a result, housing starts were down over 30 percent in both Ontario and British Columbia in the first quarter of 2025 relative to 2024.”

The Report Card also calls for stronger federal leadership, including more transparency around the Housing Accelerator Fund and the launch of a Nationwide Hazard Mapping Initiative to prevent development in high-risk flood and fire zones.

As the housing crisis continues to intensify, the report urges governments to act now to unlock housing that is abundant, affordable, low-emissions and built to last.

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