The governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto have joined forces to announce the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, an $8.8 billion initiative aimed at increasing housing supply by lowering development charges and enabling faster construction. At the launch, Mayor Olivia Chow captured the urgency of the moment: “The city is ready, homeowners are ready, a program is in place, and there’s absolutely no time to waste.”

There is indeed no time to waste. In October 2024, the city counted more than 15,000 Torontonians experiencing homelessness. Today, about 105,000 households are still on the active social housing waiting list. Nationally, more than 100,000 people in Canada used an emergency shelter in 2024. That same year, 59 per cent of Canadians said they sacrificed basic needs — including food, education and clothing — to afford rent or mortgage payments.

Unfortunately, because it is focused primarily on increasing housing supply, the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build is unlikely to end homelessness and housing precarity. The root cause of the crisis is a system designed........

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