Housing Strategy Engagement Findings

City Administration engaged with more than 120 individuals representing 86 organizations between May and October 2025. In December 2025, City Administration met with residents across four days at four different shopping malls, reaching more than 130 individuals. In total, more than 250 individuals were engaged as part of this process. Engagement was focused on seeking feedback from the following segments of the housing industry:

  • Industry associations
  • Governments including other municipalities, provincial and Indigenous governments and economic development agencies
  • Land developers
  • Housing builders and designers
  • Realtors
  • Property managers
  • Mortgage brokers
  • Financial institutions (i.e., banks, credit unions)
  • Affordable and community housing providers
  • Supportive and transitional housing providers.

That was done through a combination of in-person and online discussions, depending on participants’ preferences. Participants could also indicate if they preferred to meet in a group with other similar organizations or individually.

City Administration also engaged internally with all areas of the organization involved with housing development and policies related to housing.

Key Findings

  • Shelter benefits provided through provincial programs are not sufficient to cover the operating costs of housing.
    • It is becoming more challenging for affordable housing providers to rent from private landlords because of the difficulty in accessing direct payment of shelter benefits for landlords and the lack of confidence landlords have in the Letters of Guarantee for damages.
  • Serviced land availability is limited.
  • Current regulatory and planning barriers remain a challenge.
    • The Growth Plan review is underway.
    • There is a need to introduce neighbourhood amenities (e.g. schools, parks, pathway connections) earlier in the neighbourhood development process.
    • Developers need a less onerous Concept Plan process, pushing detailed technical servicing information later to the subdivision process.
    • Design standards are becoming less affordable.
    • More information on infrastructure is needed to support infill development.
  • The availability of skilled trades is a significant barrier to housing development.
  • Affordable, supportive and transitional housing providers, including co-operatives, face additional challenges because of how they structurally operate.
    • The most affordable homes often have issues such as mold, infestations or building code deficiencies.
    • There is a perception that there is no accountability for private landlords, some of which are predatory and coercive to tenants on social assistance.
    • Tenants can be discriminated against through landlord policies such as excessive background checks and rent references.
    • There is a desire for the City to work more collaboratively with affordable housing providers.
    • There was general agreement that the City’s role should remain on information, capacity building and capital funding.
    • Broader property tax exemptions for affordable housing providers can help with maintenance.
    • Subsidized tenant insurance could be an alternative to repair funding.
  • City’s zoning changes have been beneficial to development but have drawbacks.
    • Neighbourhoods lack long term vision.
    • It can be difficult to design appropriate buildings.
  • The City needs to regulate neighbourhoods in a way that enables them to evolve over time to include:
    • Corner stores.
    • Changing community expectations.
  • Many issues can be better addressed through improved communication and marketing.
    • Promoting the city’s relative affordability, small town feel and fast permit approvals can draw interest from prospective residents and developers.
    • Proactively sharing infrastructure investment plans can support business planning for builders.
    • Rapid regulatory change makes it hard for the development community to keep up with what is current.