Canada is facing a once-in-a-generation housing crisis. Home affordability has dropped to historic lows, rental markets are under pressure from record population growth, and housing construction is slowing even as demand continues to rise. Governments have responded with ambitious targets, zoning reforms, and tax changes — but the gap between policy on paper and results on the ground remains stubbornly wide.
The Gap Between Policy and Reality
This challenge isn’t just about capital or regulation — it’s about perspective. Canadian housing policy is being shaped largely without the insight of those who experience its failures every day: real estate brokers and agents.
These professionals are licensed, regulated, and deeply embedded in communities — yet they are rarely invited to advisory panels or policymaking roundtables. They are often the first to see where a policy is working, stalling, or completely missing the mark.
Ambitious Efforts, Stalled Outcomes
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Ontario housing starts fell 25% in the first half of 2025
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Developers nationwide are delaying or canceling projects due to high financing costs, labor shortages, and permitting delays
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CMHC forecasts that without dramatic change, Canada will miss its 2030 housing target by 1.3 million homes
Case Study: The Blind Bidding Debate
The federal government’s proposal to ban blind bidding was positioned as an affordability measure, based on the assumption that sealed bids were driving up prices. But in reality, scarcity — not secrecy — was the true driver of bidding wars.
Research has since confirmed what brokers already knew: markets with open bidding see similar or even sharper price escalation during hot periods. Ontario’s recent move to allow voluntary open bidding has seen virtually no uptake — something agents predicted in advance.
The View from the Front Lines
There are over 160,000 licensed Realtors in Canada, working in local markets but also tracking national trends.
They:
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Watch clients get disqualified under mortgage stress test rules
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See projects stall because of slow permitting
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Hear from seniors who can’t find downsizing options
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Witness newcomers struggling to find rental housing
These aren’t just anecdotes — they are early warning signals of how policy is playing out in real time.
Bringing Real-World Voices Into the Room
Policy cannot succeed through mandates alone. Execution — and feedback — matter. Governments should create formal consultation mechanisms with front-line real estate agents, not just industry associations. Doing so would:
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Help design policies grounded in reality
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Reduce the lag between drafting and implementation
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Avoid costly blind spots and unintended consequences
The Bottom Line
Canada’s housing goals are ambitious — and rightly so. But success won’t be measured by press releases or legislation. It will be measured in permits issued, homes built, and families housed.
Real estate professionals don’t set those goals — but they are often the first to see what’s working and what’s not.
If policymakers want results, they must tap this insight from the very beginning, not after the fact.
📢 It’s time to bring real estate professionals into the room — not just to listen, but to lead.
