Canada needs to build 5.8 million new homes by 2030 to restore affordability, a goal that requires doubling the current rate of housing starts.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Mike Moffatt is the founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative. Lisa Raitt is the co-chair of the Task Force for Housing and Climate and a former minister of transport, labour and natural resources.

Canada is facing a housing crisis of historic proportions. To restore affordability, the country needs to build 5.8 million new homes by 2030. That means doubling the current rate of housing starts – an ambitious goal set by Prime Minister Mark Carney during the federal election campaign. It’s a promise that will define his leadership, and one he’ll be under intense pressure to deliver on.

But no single order of government can solve Canada‘s housing crisis alone. While the federal government sets the tone and provides funding tools, the provinces hold many of the most important policy levers. If they don’t act boldly, they risk becoming the bottleneck in........

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