Housing: Three steps the provincial government can take right now to make housing more affordable
Montreal, June 29, 2026 – With a view to bringing housing prices back to more affordable levels, the MEI recommends three measures the Fréchette government could adopt in order to increase the supply of housing in Quebec.
“On the 1st of July, thousands of Quebecers move and are faced with higher and higher costs for housing,” explains Renaud Brossard, vice president of Communications at the MEI. “If we want Quebecers to be able to house themselves at more affordable prices, the first step is to stop obstructing those who build housing.”
- Reduce the number of construction trades with compulsory certification
Quebec has 25 trades with compulsory certification, more than any other province in the country. In comparison, Ontario has just seven. Among the trades requiring compulsory certification in Quebec, 13 of the 25 are not regulated anywhere else in Canada. That’s the case for painters, tile setters, and carpenter-joiners, for example.
This rigidity increases construction costs and forces entrepreneurs to call upon several workers for tasks that a single person could carry out in the rest of the country. This is an issue that was raised in an MEI Viewpoint in March 2024.
That same year, the provincial government adopted a reform of the construction industry, but left the number of trades requiring compulsory certification unchanged.
“In the last construction industry reform, the government missed the boat by maintaining so many trades with compulsory certification,” says Mr. Brossard. “By giving more flexibility to workers so they can carry out more different tasks, construction site delays and costs could be reduced.”
- Amend Quebec’s new Building Code before it comes into effect
Initially planned for this fall, the implementation of Quebec’s new Building Code was pushed back to 2027.
This new code imposes much stricter construction standards, requiring, for example, an increase in seismic loads of between a 50 and 70 per cent. It also imposes the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in residential buildings of more than five units.
These new requirements would entail increases in construction costs of between five and eight per cent when they come into effect, according to the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l’habitation du Québec.
“While the intent behind each of these standards may be understandable, their imposition will increase construction costs in a context in which building is already too expensive,” explains Mr. Brossard. “The government must go back to the drawing board and review existing standards to make sure they achieve their goals before adding on new ones.”
- Simplify the rezoning of agricultural land to increase the supply of housing
In the Greater Montreal area, 58 per cent of land is currently zoned agricultural. Even if some farmers would like to sell their unused land to a housing developer, rezoning in order to build housing is a difficult process, requiring the approval of the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ).
Between 2020 and 2023, the CPTAQ authorized only 37 per cent of requests for dezoning submitted across the province. This represents a land area of 7.43 km2, or the equivalent of the size of the Town of Mount Royal, spread throughout the province of Quebec.
Over the same period, the organization approved requests for agricultural zoning representing 50.01 km2, or 95 per cent of the area requested.
An MEI Viewpoint showed the supply growth potential represented by this zoning. In a hypothetical scenario in which Laval’s agricultural land was repurposed, it was estimated that a minimum of 70,000 units could be built, enough to house 180,000 Quebecers.
“The current system not only prevents families from having a good home; it also restricts what farmers can do with their own land,” adds Mr. Brossard. “By allowing farmers to transform their unused land into new real estate developments if they want to, we would help to house more Quebecers.”
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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.
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