The 5.5-Year Waiting Game: Why Building Housing in Canada Takes Forever
I was chatting with my good friend Bruce Firestone recently—you might know him as the founder of the Ottawa Senators—and we got onto the topic of just how broken the development approval process is here in Canada. If you care about solving the Housing Crisis, you need to hear this.
Bruce told me a story that honestly still boggles my mind. When he was building what is now the Canadian Tire Centre, it took him 28 months to actually construct the building. That sounds reasonable for a massive arena, right? But here is the kicker: it took five and a half years to get through the planning and approval process.
Think about that. It took twice as long to get permission to build as it did to actually build the thing.
This isn’t just about hockey arenas. This is the reality for housing developers across the country. Whether you are trying to build a mixed-use community or a simple infill project, you are staring down a barrel of red tape, zoning chaos, and bureaucratic delays. When I talk to Michael Ruge about the Housing Crisis, this is the stuff we focus on. We aren’t just talking about interest rates; we are talking about a system that actively discourages building.
Bruce put it perfectly. In the States, especially in places like Florida, a developer gets a congratulatory call from the governor. Here in Canada, you often get a lawsuit from your own government. It is a “blood sport,” as Bruce says. You need moxy to survive it.
But here is the positive spin. We know what the problem is. We know that time is money, and when approvals take five years, costs skyrocket, which gets passed on to you, the renter or buyer. By talking about this, by sharing these stories, we can push for change. We need to streamline these processes so we can actually get shovels in the ground and tackle the Housing Crisis head-on. It is time to stop studying the problem and start building the solution.
Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
The Bureaucracy Tax: Why Your Rent Is So High and What Michael Ruge Is Doing About It
Michael Ruge, Solving the Housing Crisis WITHOUT Urban Sprawl
Canada’s Housing Crisis: How Affordability Slipped Away
Canada’s Housing Crisis: Why Affordability Is Broken—and How Rent-to-Own Can Help