Prefab Promise and Our Global Future: Domestic Construction Policies and New Agreements Between Canada and the EU Provide Canadian Architects New Business Opportunities.
The Liberal government's plan to support prefab and modular housing is notable while new agreements between Canada and the EU means Canadian architects need to build new global relationships.
With the upcoming ratification of mutually recognized agreements in the EU and the UK, now is the time for Canadian architects to think about positioning themselves toward the European market.
Canada has spent the past decade discussing its housing crisis. Now, the Liberal government is finally betting big on how we build—committing $25 billion in debt financing (plus $1 billion in equity) to accelerate prefabricated, modular and mass-timber supply lines under its Build Canada Homes plan. This edition of my Substack newsletter includes several links to recent articles on prefab construction. There will undoubtedly be more reports on this exciting sector of the industry in the coming months. The reinvigorated Build Canada Homes initiative has the potential to evolve into Prime Minister Carney's first significant policy with a noticeable and positive impact on our cities—and our housing crisis.
That single policy lever checks several boxes at once. Factory-built components reduce on-site labour, streamline schedules, and minimize waste, while mass-timber systems expand markets for the forestry sector and embed stored carbon in every beam. This strategy simultaneously tackles affordability, climate targets and rural economic renewal. Prefab construction presents a real opportunity to deliver housing stock in areas of the country that lack a sufficient number of skilled construction trades.
For architects, the opportunity is two-fold. Domestically, public agencies and private developers will need design partners who are fluent in digital fabrication, logistics, and timber engineering. Firms that can choreograph integrated supply chains—think plug-and-play balcony cassettes or hybrid CLT modules—will set the new baseline for cost, quality and speed.
Time for Canadian Architects to Work Globally
But home-grown expertise only becomes an economic engine when it scales beyond our borders. That's where the upcoming wave of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) comes into play.
Last month, regulators in Canada and the U.K. activated a streamlined pathway that lets eligible architects register across the Atlantic in days, not months. In Brussels, the EU formally adopted its first profession-wide MRA with Canada for architects; ROAC (Regulatory Organizations of Architecture in Canada) and the Architects' Council of Europe expect it to take legal effect this summer as part of CETA's full ratification. Although not currently ratified, now is the time for architects to begin considering expanding their business internationally, with the European market being considered the greatest opportunity. The current uncertain political landscape in the United States means that it is best to begin hedging our bets today by considering more stable markets for the future.
The CETA and MRA accords are positive steps in dismantling the administrative moat that long separated Canadian practices from Europe's €2-trillion construction marketplace: no more duplicative exams, protracted credential reviews or opaque provincial equivalency hearings.
Canadian architects who pivot now—re-examining trade alliances, positioning assets and sharpening export narratives—can insulate themselves from U.S. volatility and capture first-mover advantage abroad.
Instead, a Toronto studio that perfects a four-storey CLT modular school could, with minimal friction, tender the same solution in Copenhagen, Manchester, or Milan—markets already mandated to decarbonize public infrastructure at a rapid pace. It is not an easy task to consider working in the EU, but Canadian architects should begin positioning themselves for this possibility if they wish to expand their services globally. And remember this: these current reciprocity agreements mean that more Europeans will be seeking out opportunities in Canada.
Canada's Export-Ready Value Proposition
Stakeholder-First Process
Decades of Indigenous consultation frameworks, municipal design review panels, and public realm activism have honed a facilitative culture that many EU developers now seek for complex brownfield or social housing sites. Progressive investors and city councils need partners who can navigate diverse community voices and deliver legitimate "social licence" on controversial projects.
Material Intelligence
Our expertise in advanced timber systems, hybrid prefabricated envelopes, and zero-carbon retrofits aligns perfectly with EU directives on embodied carbon caps and circular construction. Cities such as Amsterdam and Helsinki have set mass-timber quotas and circular materials targets that outstrip the local supply of design expertise. Canadian know-how fills that gap.
Four-Season Urbanism
From Winnipeg's Warming Huts competition to Toronto's Winter Stations, we've turned climatic extremes into design laboratories. Climate change is delivering hotter summers and harsher winters across Europe. Strategies for micro-climate mitigation, snow management and shoulder-season placemaking are increasingly valuable.
Scale-Up Mindset
Build Canada Homes will double the domestic demand for modular housing over the next decade. Firms that master factory logic, digital twins and just-in-time logistics at home will be export-ready. European governments are racing to meet Renovation Wave targets; partners who arrive with proven industrialized workflows will edge out conventional boutique studios.
Of course, policy wins don't self-execute. Architects must master new contractual norms, navigate EU procurement directives and align with CE-marked product standards. They must learn to pitch their services both competitively and culturally in cities that prize local context.
Going Global: International Opportunities for Canadian Architects
That's the precise conversation I will be convening on July 7 with my colleague, Jack Renteria, at the Toronto offices of MJMA Architecture & Design. Going Global: International Opportunities for Canadian Architects will unpack European entry strategies, investor expectations, and the nuts and bolts of practising under the CETA and MRAs. This is a first step for Canadian architects to think more globally.
The world is our client. The simmering U.S.-Canada tariff war has reminded every export-oriented sector of how exposed they are to a single market. Architecture feels that chill indirectly: tighter capital, pricier materials, and delayed cross-border projects quickly erode the thin margins of design practice. Never mind the rising sense of nationalism south of the border, which will only make Canadian architects increasingly unpopular, at least for public projects.
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Policy Punch-Ups: Rules Shaping Our Built Future
One more housing bill and no new homes (Spacing) Ontario’s Bill 17 promises faster, cheaper construction by slashing development fees and environmental rules, chiefly benefiting developers. Critics warn it guts municipal sustainability standards, undermines affordability, and still won’t help the Ford government meet long-missed housing-supply targets statewide. Critics remain.
Municipal climate plans under threat by new Ontario housing bill, critics say (Building) Ontario’s Bill 17 would strip municipalities’ authority to mandate green-building standards exceeding provincial codes, threatening Toronto’s net-zero planning and similar bylaws in 12+ cities. Environmentalists argue the move sacrifices long-term emissions goals to expedite housing and placate developer lobbying ambitions.
Ottawa has to allow home prices to fall to make housing more affordable, experts say (Building) Housing analysts counter Minister Gregor Robertson’s claim, arguing meaningful affordability requires nominal price declines alongside subsidized supply. Without easing speculative expectations, boosted construction alone cannot close ownership gaps for younger Canadians facing stagnant wages and persistently elevated mortgage qualification hurdles.
Op Ed: The value of an architectural reciprocity agreement between Canada-UK (Canadian Architect) The new Canada-UK Mutual Recognition Agreement streamlines registration, letting architects practice across borders by acknowledging comparable education and licensing. Already supporting $300 million in bilateral architectural trade, it promises expanded collaboration, market access, and shared expertise amid growing international opportunities.
British Columbia Can Substantially Lower Housing Costs with One Simple Trick (Missing Middle Initiative) Missing Middle Initiative argues shifting development cost charges into post-occupancy property taxes, rather than upfront fees, could slash home prices tens of thousands, reducing so-called “junk fees.” Spreading infrastructure costs over time would improve affordability without reducing municipal revenue streams.
Factory Fresh: Prefab, Timber & Building Reinvented
Prefab momentum grows in B.C. as federal housing push takes shape (BIV News) British Columbia’s governments, mayors, and industry already scale prefabricated housing, leveraging supportive-housing precedents, multiplex zoning, and factory capacity. Ottawa’s forthcoming billions could accelerate adoption toward Modular BC’s goal of raising prefab share from 4.5 percent to 25 percent within five years.
As Liberals push prefab, B.C. researcher touts new construction methods (BIV) UBC engineer Tony Yang welcomes Ottawa’s $25 billion financing for innovative prefabricated builders, calling it a healthy kick-start to shift construction from inefficient sites to production lines. Prefab promises cheaper, faster, higher-quality, lower-emission homes, aligning with Liberal Build Canada Homes.
How Balcony Prefabrication Reduces Worker Risk (Building) Factory-built balcony modules limit high-rise edge work, shortening exposure to fall hazards, simplifying rigging, and reducing onsite congestion. Prefab components arrive ready-to-install, enabling consistent quality, faster schedules, and safer conditions, embedding safety culture beyond annual Safety Week campaigns for crews.
Vancouver's First Mass Timber Hotel Proposed Near Granville Island (Storeys) Rezoning seeks approval for a narrow, contaminated lot to host Vancouver’s first and North America’s tallest mass-timber hotel, adding eco-friendly tourism capacity near Granville Island. The project spotlights engineered-wood innovation, brownfield transformation, and intensified urban infill amid provincial climate targets.
Vertical integration changes the real estate game (The Globe and Mail) Developer-REIT Clifton Blake swiftly retrofits a former Pusateri’s site into Loblaw’s small-format No Frills within 24 hours, illustrating how owning construction, design, and management capabilities enables agile turnaround, protects leases, and responds to shifting retail demands in competitive urban markets.
Urban Shifts & Market Rifts: Cities in Flux
Builders taking on more debt as some in residential sector struggle (The Globe and Mail) Bank of Canada figures reveal outstanding bank loan commitments to developers hit $85 billion, driven by interim construction financing up 383 percent year-over-year. Record leverage highlights builders’ cash-flow strains amid unsold inventory, higher rates, and cooling presales across Canadian markets.
Where Public Transit Systems Are Bouncing Back Around the World (Bloomberg) Bloomberg’s analysis shows East Asian and European metros have recovered or exceeded pre-Covid ridership, thanks to integrated networks, reliable funding, and mixed-use urbanism, while North and South American systems languish near 70 percent, facing fiscal cliffs and impending service cuts.
In a challenging market, a few brave developers push forward (The Globe and Mail) Despite thousands of unsold condos in Toronto and Vancouver, some developers continue launching projects, buoyed by federal GST rebates for first-time buyers and hopes Ottawa will introduce further incentives to clear inventory, stabilize presales, and achieve ambitious annual housing-production targets.
B.C. Housing Minister expresses concern after Vancouver abandons controversial supportive-housing project (The Globe and Mail) Vancouver cancelled rezoning for a 129-unit supportive-housing tower in Kitsilano after a legal settlement with residents, surprising Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon. He worries lawsuits may jeopardize similar projects, undermining provincial goals to deliver urgently needed housing for vulnerable populations citywide.
Construction on Toronto's new artificial island is coming along stunningly (BlogTO) Toronto’s $1 billion Port Lands Flood Protection project has rerouted the Don River, birthing Ookwemin Minising, wetlands, and developable land for condos, parks, businesses. Engineering progress promises resilience, ecological restoration, and a transformative waterfront neighbourhood approaching full build-out this decade.
Toronto’s new island promises a greener, livelier city (The Globe and Mail) Landscape firm SLA and Allies & Morrison will reimagine Ookwemin’s streets and parks, potentially adding more housing. Their playful, climate-adaptive design ethos suggests Toronto could embrace quirkier placemaking, diversifying its urban identity while completing the 40-hectare Port Lands redevelopment vision.
Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park designated a National Historic Site (The Globe and Mail) Rockcliffe Park’s tree-lined, sidewalk-free streets and diplomatic residences earned National Historic Site status, capping decades of heritage advocacy. The designation reinforces protections for the 1.8-square-kilometre enclave’s unique landscape character amid ongoing debates about balancing preservation with urban evolution and growth.
Sports Stadiums Are Monuments to the Poverty of Our Ambitions (The New York Times) US cities struggle to build essential housing or transit yet rapidly erect multi-billion-dollar stadiums that primarily serve wealthy patrons. The opinion piece criticizes policy priorities enabling luxe sports venues while broader infrastructure remains mired in regulatory, financial, political gridlock nationally.
Municipal climate plans under threat by new Ontario housing bill, critics say (Building) More than a dozen Ontario municipalities have followed Toronto's lead by pushing developers to design more energy efficient buildings with lower greenhouse-gas emissions, beyond what's required by the provincial building code's minimum standards.