An independent research organization is calling on Ottawa to boost immigration and bring in more workers needed to build the housing Canadians need.<\/p>\n
\u201cConstruction of new homes is critical to addressing housing affordability and availability in Canada but persistent labour shortages is one of the obstacles slowing progress,\u201d says Stefan Fournier, executive director of the Conference Board of Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllocating a small number of immigration places within the existing immigration levels plan to occupations that are core to residential construction could mitigate labour shortages and advance the building of new homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its latest report, Work In Progress: How Immigration Can Address Labour Shortages In Residential Construction<\/i>, the Conference Board lays out five recommendations for the Canadian government to resolve the perceived housing crisis.<\/p>\n
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Marc Miller Says Canada Will Raise Francophone Immigration Targets<\/a><\/span> Those recommendations highlight the need of immigration to build up Canada\u2019s workforce and include:<\/p>\n Michael Bourque, chief executive officer at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) which collaborated on the report along with the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) and Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), says more immigrants are needed to build the housing Canadians need.<\/p>\n \u201cEach day we see the impact that a lack of housing supply is having on Canadians from coast to coast,\u201d says Bourque.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout policy intervention, Canada will not have the workers required to meet its ambitious homebuilding targets and Canadians will continue to face challenges whether they are looking to purchase or rent a home.\u201d<\/p>\n Ottawa estimates 3.5 million homes need to be built over the coming six years with Canada\u2019s residential construction industry to grow 15 per cent during that period but that could result in a structural labour shortage of 12,000 jobs per year on average.<\/p>\n Immigration Minister Marc Miller has already bemoaned the paucity of people to build homes in Canada, tweeting about the problem in August.<\/p>\n Watch Video<\/b><\/p>\n
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Construction Industry Facing 12,000-Worker Shortage Annually Without Immigration<\/h3>\n
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