1.Introduction
Canada’s housing problem is currently facing severe tests, and the current situation has made countless people worried. The housing price trend has only increased, and so has the rent, which has continued to rise, making many families unable to make ends meet on housing. At the same time, the housing shortage problem has become increasingly prominent and has become a thorny problem that needs to be solved in Canada’s social development. Under such a predicament, modular prefabricated housing, as a highly potential solution, has gradually entered people’s vision, bringing new hope to alleviate the housing crisis. In-depth exploration of the potential of modular prefabricated housing in the Canadian housing market is of great practical significance for alleviating the current housing crisis, improving people’s living conditions, and promoting social stability and development.
2.The current situation of Canada’s housing crisis
2.1 Data presentation of soaring housing prices and rents
Across the country, Canada’s average housing price has increased dramatically. Taking key cities such as Vancouver and Toronto as examples, housing prices have skyrocketed in the past few years, and the increase in some areas has even exceeded 50%. Rental prices have also been rising, and many tenants have found helplessly that their monthly rental expenses account for a growing proportion of their household income, and some families even have to pay more than half of their income for rent. The sharp increase in the proportion of housing expenses to household income has severely squeezed the family’s consumption capacity in other areas, and has had a great negative impact on the quality of life of the people.
3.Overview of modular prefabricated housing
There are two main ways to build modular houses, each with different applicable scenarios and advantages and disadvantages, as follows:
The first is the overall prefabricated assembly type: all housing modules such as steel structure keels, wall ceilings, base plates, and insulation layers are produced in factories according to unified standards. The assembly is completed in the factory through welding, gluing, etc., and the interior is finely decorated. The circuit is laid according to customer requirements, and the water pipeline interface is reserved. After the house is transported to the destination, you only need to connect the circuit and pipeline to move in. The advantage of this method is that it saves the on-site installation process, the move-in speed is fast, and it is suitable for individual purchases or small batch customization. However, if it is purchased in large quantities (except for packaged container houses) or purchased capsule houses, the shipping cost will be relatively high. Because the whole house is large in size and takes up a lot of space for transportation, the freight expenditure will be considerable.
The second type is the assembly type of scattered parts transportation: all components of the house are also produced in the factory, but they are sent to the customer’s designated address in the form of modular scattered parts. Customers can choose to organize their own personnel for installation, or hire factory workers to the site for construction, but the additional expenses such as travel and labor incurred by hiring workers are borne by the customer. The advantage of this method is that one shipping container can load multiple sets of house parts, which greatly reduces the cost of shipping. However, it needs to be assembled on site, and the labor cost will increase. Therefore, this construction method is more recommended for customers who do camps, cultural and tourism projects, or plan to purchase in large quantities and have their own construction teams.
4.Advantages of modular prefabricated houses
4.1 Construction efficiency advantage
Most of the construction of modular prefabricated houses is completed in the factory, and the construction environment in the factory is relatively stable and is not affected by natural factors such as weather. Compared with traditional residential construction, the construction period of modular prefabricated houses is greatly shortened. For example, a traditional house may take a year or even longer to build, but with modular prefabrication technology, a house of the same size may only take a few months to be delivered, greatly improving the speed of housing supply.
4.2 Cost advantage
The factory’s large-scale production model gives modular prefabricated houses a significant advantage in cost control. By purchasing raw materials on a large scale, more favorable prices can be obtained, thereby reducing material costs. Moreover, since most of the construction is completed in the factory, the labor cost, management cost and additional cost caused by construction delays at the construction site are reduced. Studies have shown that modular prefabricated houses can reduce costs by 10% – 20% compared to traditional houses.
4.3 Quality and environmental advantages
The standardized production process and strict quality control system in the factory ensure the quality of modular prefabricated houses. Each module must undergo multiple quality inspection processes during the production process to ensure the consistency and stability of the product. Compared with traditional construction methods, modular prefabricated houses generate significantly less construction waste during the construction process, and the pollution to the environment is also significantly reduced. At the same time, due to the high efficiency of factory production, energy consumption is relatively low, which is more in line with the concept of sustainable development.
5. Canadian Government Policy Support
5.1 Federal Government Initiatives
In order to promote the development of modular prefabricated housing, the Canadian federal government has introduced a series of powerful initiatives. Among them, the plan to provide huge loans has attracted much attention. The government plans to provide modular prefabricated housing manufacturers with loans of up to billions of Canadian dollars for companies to expand production scale and upgrade production technology. The government is also committed to building a new housing industry, relying on the country’s rich wood resources, advanced technology and sufficient labor force to promote the vigorous development of the modular prefabricated housing industry and improve housing supply capacity.
5.2 Provincial Government Actions
Ontario has taken active actions in promoting the development of modular prefabricated housing and invested a lot of money in promoting modular construction. These funds are mainly used to support the research and development innovation of related enterprises, build demonstration projects and educate the public. Other provinces have followed suit and introduced similar policies. For example, British Columbia has encouraged enterprises to participate in the construction of modular prefabricated housing through tax incentives and other policies to contribute to alleviating the housing crisis in the province.
6.Challenges faced by modular prefabricated housing
6.1 Public perception
Some members of the public have misunderstandings about modular prefabricated housing, believing that its quality is lower than that of traditional housing and its appearance is not beautiful enough. The formation of this concept is mainly due to the lack of understanding of modular prefabricated housing technology. Due to the relatively low popularity of modular prefabricated housing in Canada, the public lacks intuitive experience and understanding, resulting in low acceptance of it. There are many difficulties in improving the public’s understanding of modular prefabricated housing. The constraints of traditional concepts and the lack of effective publicity and promotion channels are the main obstacles.
6.2 Regulatory standards
Most of the existing building regulations and standards are based on traditional construction methods. There are many inadaptable aspects for the emerging building model of modular prefabricated housing. For example, in terms of building structure safety standards and fire protection specifications, new specifications specifically applicable to modular prefabricated housing need to be formulated. However, the formulation of new specifications and standards faces many difficulties and complexities. It is necessary to take into account many factors such as the special construction process, structural characteristics and quality control requirements of modular prefabricated housing. This process requires a lot of time and effort.
6.3 Shortage of professional talents
The construction technology of modular prefabricated housing is different from that of traditional building construction technology, which puts forward special requirements for the skills of workers. Workers need to master the operational skills of module production in the factory and the professional skills of module assembly on the construction site. At present, Canada’s professional talent training system in the field of modular prefabricated housing is still imperfect, lacking systematic training courses and practical teaching bases, resulting in a shortage of professional talents and restricting the rapid development of the modular prefabricated housing industry.
7. Diversity of solutions to Canada’s housing crisis
7.1 Measures to increase land supply
The government has actively adjusted its land policy and increased the supply of land for residential construction. By rationally planning urban development, developing new land resources, and increasing the land area available for residential construction. The government is also committed to improving land use efficiency and encouraging the construction of high-density housing, such as high-rise apartments, to make full use of limited land resources and increase the supply of housing.
7.2 Encourage mixed-use development model
The mixed-use development model refers to the organic combination of multiple functions such as residential, commercial, and office in the same area. This model has been successful in some cities, such as some communities in Montreal. Through mixed-use development, residents can enjoy the surrounding commercial, office and other supporting services while living, reducing commuting time and costs. This model can also promote economic development in the region, increase employment opportunities, and play a positive role in alleviating the housing crisis.
7.3 Means to support the development of the rental market
The government implements rent control policies to reasonably limit the increase in rents and protect the legal rights and interests of tenants. The government increases investment to increase the supply of rental housing. By building public rental housing and encouraging enterprises to participate in the construction of rental housing, the proportion of rental housing in the market will be increased, providing more people with affordable rental housing options.
8.Conclusion
Modular prefabricated housing plays a vital role in Canada’s housing crisis. Its many advantages such as high construction efficiency, low cost, high quality and environmental protection make it a powerful weapon to alleviate the housing crisis. However, to fully tap the potential of modular prefabricated housing, it is necessary to overcome a series of challenges such as insufficient public awareness, imperfect regulations and standards, and shortage of professional talents. This requires the government, enterprises and all sectors of society to work together to promote the development of the modular prefabricated housing industry. Through the efforts of all parties, I believe that Canada can gradually alleviate the housing crisis, provide more high-quality and affordable housing for the people, promote the healthy and stable development of the housing market, and enable more people to realize their dreams of living and working in peace and contentment.
