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The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is hosting a free online summit later this month to explore actions needed to tackle the housing crisis.
(Image courtesy of RESCON)
Cumbersome planning approvals processes, restrictive regulatory policies and red tape have created an environment where it is impossible for builders to build homes people can afford, and housing starts and sales have plummeted, says the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). To address the issue, the organization is hosting a free online housing summit on September 24 bringing together industry professionals, stakeholders and political leaders to address actions that must be taken to tackle the crisis.
Ontario’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack will be speaking, as will be CMHC senior economist Ted Tsiakopoulos, Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario president and CEO Tony Irwin and Toronto Regional Real Estate Board chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
Housing Summit 5.0 – Embracing Transformation: Building Homes Faster will run from noon to 4:30 p.m., and the online event is open to everyone via free registration (click here to register).
“This summit is extremely timely because housing starts have cratered in large part due to a perfect storm of excessive taxation, fees and levies,” says RESCON president Richard Lyall. “We have the worst level of new home and condo sales in a generation and are staring into the abyss. I don’t think people realize the seriousness of the situation. Developers and builders are laying off employees and skilled trades and tenders are being delayed or scaled back.”
Throughout the afternoon, speakers at the event will provide an overview of the housing crisis, share actionable insights, dive into the false narratives driving housing policy at all three levels of government, and present insights and an analysis on what policy changes are needed.
In Ontario, starts in the first seven months of 2025 fell 25 per cent compared to the same period last year. Forecasts suggest starts may go even lower. The decline in residential construction is proving to be financially disastrous for cities like Toronto, says RESCON. A recent staff report in July indicated there was a substantial shortfall in anticipated Municipal Land Transfer Tax revenue during the first few months of this year. Twenty years ago, the housing cost to income ratio in Canada was 4:1 but it is now more than 9:1 in Ontario.
“To say the situation is bad would be an understatement. It’s like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion,” says Lyall. “Our economic future depends on what happens with the residential construction industry. We need immediate, urgent action to spur new homebuilding. I am hopeful our housing summit will spark ideas, discussions and action to boost supply.”