Liberals to revive war-time housing blueprints in bid to speed up builds – Global News
LATEST UPDATE: The details of this announcement were made on Dec. 12, 2023. To read the latest information on this program,click here.
Nearly 80 years after it was first brought in, Global News has learned the federal government is reviving a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) program to provide standardized housing blueprints to builders, according to a senior government source.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced Tuesday the Liberal government will hold consultations on how the relaunched program will function. The senior government source tells Global News blueprints of various building types and sizes will be made available by the end of 2024.
Pre-approved housing plans are anticipated to cut down on the building timeline by having projects move through the municipal zoning and permitting process more quickly.
4:08 How B.C.s ambitious home building plans could lead to a drop in prices
Mike Moffatt, senior director of policy and innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute, proposed this idea directly to the federal cabinet during meetings in Charlottetown this summer, and believes it could cut as much as 12 months off construction times.
Story continues below advertisement
I think builders and developers would be quite interested in this, particularly if it helps track through the approvals process, Moffatt told Global News.
Moffatt notes that for the program to be effective, it will require a wide catalogue of blueprints.
They certainly need to have, you know, a fairly extensive catalogue of designs so people arent sort of forced to choose between, you know, one or two designs or nothing, Moffatt said.
The program is a throwback to the CMHCs work from the 1940s to late 1970s, where hundreds of thousands of homes were built from thousands of plans approved by the federal housing agency.
Many of these homes, dubbed strawberry box houses or victory homes, were built for returning Second World War veterans, and are still standing in many Canadian neighbourhoods.
Trending Now
Story continues below advertisement
Builders using standardized designs should lead to more favourable terms from lenders and insurance companies, Moffatt believes.
Imagine if you wanted car insurance and you were trying to go to your insurer on a type of car that they had never seen before, that youd put together yourself, he said. They would have a lot of trouble pricing that insurance.
The potential for quicker build times and reduced expenses has companies like Calgary-based 720 Modular excited for the program.
Currently how we build, every building is a snowflake, 720 Modular project manager Craig Mitchell told Global News.
If we can move to a standardized framework, all of a sudden now we have a fighting chance to accelerate housing pace because were not having to redesign every time we go and build a building.
Standardized plans particularly benefit companies like Mitchells, who build their homes inside a warehouse, and then deliver them in shipping container-sized portions to the location of the home.
That process is known as modular or prefabricated building, which Mitchell describes as faster, cheaper and greener compared to traditional building techniques.
If the internal guts of the building itself structurally and the layouts are all similar, now we can really move forward and start industrializing construction, by moving some of that work offsite for example, he said.
2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Excerpt from:
Liberals to revive war-time housing blueprints in bid to speed up builds - Global News
- Opinion | The Happiness Gap Between Left and Right Isn't Closing - The New York Times - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Have liberals forgotten that the government cant fix everything? - The Hill - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Study finds liberals and conservatives differ on climate change beliefsbut are relatively united in taking action - Phys.org - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Columbia protests: I read the university president's old memoir-manifesto. Yikes. - Slate - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Opinion: Poilievre to business: stop sucking up to Liberals and start sucking up to me - The Globe and Mail - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Grocery giants paid for friendly Liberal, Tory policy with decades of donations The Breach - The Breach - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Opinion: The Liberals' delays on foreign interference carry profound costs - The Globe and Mail - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Gaza is the greatest test liberalism has faced since 1945. And it is failing - Middle East Eye - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- NDP leader slams Liberals for giving nearly $26M to Costco, Loblaw in recent years - Yahoo News Canada - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- 'Overconfident' Poilievre exposing vulnerabilities, but Liberals failing to capitalize on them, say pollsters and political ... - The Hill Times - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- NDP leader slams Liberals for giving nearly $26-million to Costco, Loblaw in recent years - The Globe and Mail - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Evening Update: Liberals unveil foreign interference registry - The Globe and Mail - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Columbia crisis: Another massive failure of liberalism - Salon - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- MAGA is obsessed with Viktor Orban; liberals should be, too - - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Opinion | Justin Trudeau May Be No Match for the New World of Polarization - The New York Times - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Liberals accuse Poilievre of planning to override charter rights with notwithstanding clause - CBC.ca - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Even if the Liberals win in 2026, dont count on a new deal for cities - TVO Today - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Howie Carr: Lets toll all smug liberals - Boston Herald - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Only 6% of vaccine injury claimants have been paid as Liberals earmark $36 million for program - True North - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- PC opposition blasts Liberals over handling of mental health and drug crisis - Yahoo News Canada - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- As Michael Cohen testifies against Trump, many liberals are still wary of him - The Washington Post - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Letters: Seven ways to kill the Canadian dream (courtesy of the Trudeau Liberals) - National Post - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- How a former Edmonton cop became the hand behind the Liberals' proposed hate-crime law - The Logic - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Tories dismiss fishing harbour repairs by federal Liberals as 'electioneering' - CBC.ca - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Globe editorial: The Liberals' capital-gains tax hike punishes prosperity - The Globe and Mail - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Opinion: For the good of the Liberal party, Trudeau needs to think about his future - The Globe and Mail - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Freeland pushes back against suggestion Liberals are bending to NDP on disability benefit - iPolitics.ca - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- 'Hell freezing over': Liberals shocked to agree with Jeanine Pirro on dead dog take - Raw Story - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- 'Sopranos' Actress Says People In Hollywood Are Too 'Petrified' To Cross Liberals On Social Issues - The Daily Wire - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Liberals' plan to destroy super will drive up house prices - The New Daily - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Opinion: The foreign interference inquiry features a parade of senior Liberals protesting too much - The Globe and Mail - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- How liberals killed Earth Day - Washington Times - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- The Weekly Wrap: The Liberals lean all the way into class warfare - The Hub - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Liberals Are Trying to Make Trump's Age an Issue. It Won't Work. - The New Republic - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Israel Attacks, Trump Trial Rights, and Liberals Taking The Country Down - WBT - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Letter | Liberal tribalism led to downfall of phonics - The Capital Times - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Quebec Liberals will choose new leader during convention in June 2025 - Yahoo News Canada - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Globe editorial: The Liberals move from borrow and spend, to tax and spend - The Globe and Mail - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Other voices: Liberal bias at NPR, old-school journalism and the reluctance to admit a mistake - St. Paul Pioneer Press - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- S&Ds contest harmful deal on the new EU retail investment law, brokered by liberals in cooperation with the far right - Socialists & Democrats - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Unpacking the Liberals Housing First Federal Budget - Move Smartly - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Budget 2024 sets up a hard year for the Liberals. Heres what to expect - Global News - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Jagmeet Singh says the Liberals and Conservatives are 'controlled' by corporate lobbyists. How true is that? - Toronto Star - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Liberals force banks to identify carbon rebates by name in direct deposits - True North - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Outspoken Liberal cabinet minister Iona Campagnolo earned a reputation for getting things done - The Globe and Mail - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Here's what the Liberals have already promised will be in today's federal budget - CP24 - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Quebec Liberals will choose new leader during convention in June 2025 - larongeNOW - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Did Macron and Tusk Just Chart a Path for Liberals Elsewhere on Immigration? - Just Security - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Freedom from Fear and the Specter of Perfection - Liberal Currents - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Trump praises 'very nice' Katie Britt SOTU response in Ohio rally - 1819 News - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Memo To Britain: Tories Have Acted Like A Light Version Of Liberals And Could Be In For A Wipeout - Forbes - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Liberal Media Loses It Over Trump's 'Bloodbath' Comments - WIBC - Indianapolis News & Politics - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- The Case for Trump: Bullet Points to share with Liberals and RINO's by Joyce Kaufman 850 WFTL - 850 WFTL - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Liberals drop more hints that an $18B Honda expansion in Ontario is possible - Automotive News Canada - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Polls show 'across-the-board, generalized retreat' from Liberals, says Coletto - The Hill Times - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Ontario Liberals rule out carbon tax if they form government in 2026 - Global News - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Are EU liberals still progressive and pro-European? - EURACTIV - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Opinion: If the Trudeau Liberals are annihilated in an election, it will be over housing - The Globe and Mail - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Trump defended over bloodbath speech as conservatives claim liberals are twisting his words - MSN - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Liberals say Poilievre 'doesn't care' about the housing shortage and mock his record | RCI - Radio-Canada.ca - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- An expected defeat was unexpectedly painful for Justin Trudeau's Liberals. That should set off alarm bells - Toronto Star - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Liberals say Poilievre 'doesn't care' about the housing shortage and mock his record - MSN - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Even when it criticizes Israel, the liberal world is not against us - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Socialists ramp up attacks on conservatives and liberals in EU election manifesto - POLITICO Europe - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Howard Levitt: Young people are rejecting the woke status quo and that spells trouble for the Liberals - Financial Post - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Six liberal conspiracy theories clouding politics | Business - Colorado Springs Gazette - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Carson Jerema: Don't believe the Liberals, online harms act targets free speech - National Post - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Howard Levitt: Young people are rejecting the woke status quo and that spells trouble for the Liberals - Yahoo Canada Finance - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- The history of Section 13, the controversial hate speech law the Liberals just revived - National Post - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- The Liberals are set to unveil an online harms bill today. Here's what you need to know - CBC.ca - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- The Liberals and NDP say they have a pharmacare deal so what's left on their to-do list? - CBC.ca - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Liberals introduce online bill, Amanda Todds mother urges MPs to pass - Vancouver Sun - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Liberals accuse Poilievre of creating 'dysfunction' in bid to extend House hours - CTV News - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- WA Liberals leader Libby Mettam tells Stateline how she plans to rebuild ahead of the state election - ABC News - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Liberals take first step toward pharmacare with bill for birth control, diabetes meds - Sylvan Lake News - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Best of the 'Media Buzz Meter': Liberal Pundits Increasingly Say Biden Can't Win, Should Bow Out at the Convention - FOX News Radio - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Georgian Dream is preparing a bill against ideology of pseudo-liberals and wilful propaganda of non-traditional ... - Democracy & Freedom Watch - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Dunkley by-election: First results show swing to Liberals - MSN - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Liberals vote against disclosure of ArriveCan costs as Opposition MPs accuse the government of filibustering - The Hill Times - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Liberals want to stop overnight voting with health breaks for MPs - Global News - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
Tags: