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Solving shortage of construction workers key to housing growth

April 29, 2024

Solving a longstanding construction worker shortage will be key to boosting housing supply, experts say, as Canada’s national housing agency continues to forecast housing start levels that fall short of growing demand.

The growing construction labour shortage was cited by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. as one of three factors contributing to longer construction times in a housing supply report last month.

Along with larger project sizes and increasing costs, the agency said workers are retiring faster than they’re being replaced. This challenge was worsened by the pandemic, when some construction workers changed careers or retired prematurely rather than returning to the industry as the economy reopened.

“It’s been the monster in the woods for a long time. We’ve known this is coming,” said Jordan Thomson, senior manager of infrastructure advisory at KPMG in Canada.

“However, it’s kind of reached a head now, in that there is a lot of work combined with just the reduction of the overall labour force.”

Thomson said the industry is facing the dual challenges of replacing workers as they retire while trying to grow the sector to address Canada’s rising need for homes.

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