Speed up approvals • YouBetcha

Current Status

Status: Not Started The government has made announcements and launched initiatives related to housing and project approvals, but no concrete actions have been taken to fulfill any specific component of this promise.

Background

Canada’s housing crisis has been a pressing issue for years, with affordability and supply shortages affecting millions of families, particularly in urban centers. The promise to speed up approvals for housing and infrastructure projects emerged as a response to bureaucratic delays that have long hindered construction timelines. Fulfilling this commitment would require overhauling national building codes, streamlining regulatory processes, and implementing specific mechanisms to prioritize certain builders or project types. Such reforms aim to cut through red tape while maintaining safety and environmental standards, a balance that has proven challenging for successive governments. [7]

Evidence

Since the current government under Prime Minister Mark Carney was sworn in, following the most recent election prior to 2026, there have been notable announcements related to housing and project approvals, though none directly address the specific components of the original promise. On March 17, 2023, under the previous administration of Justin Trudeau, the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) was launched in Guelph, Ontario, with a $4 billion commitment to fast-track the creation of 100,000 new homes across Canada. This initiative invited local governments to develop action plans to remove barriers to housing development, including speeding up approvals and reforming permitting systems. However, this predates the current government and consists primarily of funding and invitations for planning rather than direct reforms or regulatory changes. [7]

More recently, on August 29, 2025, Prime Minister Carney announced the launch of the Major Projects Office (MPO), headquartered in Calgary, with a mandate to streamline federal approval processes for major nation-building projects such as ports, railways, and energy corridors. The MPO aims to serve as a single point of contact to expedite such projects, supported by the Building Canada Act, which was passed by Parliament in June 2025. While this initiative signals intent to address approval delays in a broader context, it does not specifically tackle national building codes, prefabricated housing regulations, standardized designs, or the other detailed elements of the housing-focused promise. No evidence has emerged of tangible reforms or policy changes directly tied to the commitments made. [6]

Other available sources, including materials from the National Research Council Canada on construction product approvals and various Justice Department documents, provide general context on regulatory processes or unrelated policy areas but offer no specific updates or actions relevant to this promise. [2][3][4][5][8] As of March 10, 2026, there are no documented instances of the current government enacting reforms to simplify building codes, eliminate duplicative inspections, leverage standardized designs, allow multi-project applications, or fast-track experienced builders as outlined in the original commitment.

Assessment

The government’s record on this promise to speed up housing and project approvals reveals a clear gap between rhetoric and action. While the launch of the Major Projects Office in 2025 and earlier initiatives like the Housing Accelerator Fund demonstrate a broader intent to tackle delays in construction and development, they fall short of addressing the specific reforms and mechanisms laid out in the original commitment. Announcements and funding allocations, however ambitious, do not equate to the concrete policy changes or regulatory overhauls required to reform building codes, streamline inspections for modular housing, or implement standardized designs on public lands.

Under Prime Minister Carney, the focus appears to have shifted toward large-scale infrastructure projects rather than the granular, housing-specific reforms promised. Without evidence of direct action on any of the five detailed components—ranging from code simplification to fast-tracking proven builders—the government cannot claim progress on this front. As of now, this promise remains untouched, with no clear timeline or plan to translate intent into results.

The housing crisis continues to demand urgent solutions, and Canadians are still waiting for the bureaucratic barriers to be dismantled as pledged. Until the government moves beyond broad mandates and funding promises to enact the specific reforms outlined, this commitment stands as a missed opportunity to address a critical national need.

Current Status

Background

Evidence

Assessment

Sources