MP hopes newly-announced Dartmouth, N.S., modular homes are ready for next year

Dartmouth, N.S., will have modular homes in Shannon Park.

A modular homes builder on Nova Scotia’s south shore says prefab builds are the way of the future.

“We’ve had almost double the inquiries every year since I’ve started at the business,” said Dave Chapman, the president and owner of Maritime Homes Ltd. “It just seems to keep going.”

His company’s factory-built homes come in all different designs and all different sizes, and can be ready within three-to-four months.

“You’re coming to a modular home builder to get it quicker, to get it built indoors, to get a fixed price and to get experience,” he said.

But Chapman wonders how the federal government will make good on its commitment to build thousands of homes across the country.

“I’m not sure how 4,000 homes are going to get built,” he said. “I’m excited to find out how, and of course, we’d like to be a part of that.”

The announcement to build 4,000 factory-built homes across six Canadian communities, including large cities like Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg, came on the eve of Parliament returning on Monday.

But Dartmouth made the list, as one of the first communities to benefit from the $13-billion investment – and commitment coming under the new government entity, Build Canada Homes.

Dartmouth–Cole Harbour Liberal MP Darren Fisher told CTV News the Dartmouth builds will go in Shannon Park.

“I would like to have seen things in the ground by now,” Fisher said.

“The future is very bright for Shannon Park,” he said. “I’m back to being super proud of the community for their vision.”

Just how many homes or units will come to Dartmouth remains to be seen. But speed and affordability will be keys, says Fisher – and the provincial government is eager to see the federal announcement come to fruition.

“It is a way to address the skilled labor shortage by also delivering projects in a quick format,” said Colton LeBlanc, the province’s growth and development minister. “I’d say we are well-positioned as a province with a number of companies, including offsite and modular companies, that are ready to scale up, to build even more homes and faster.”

The Nova Scotia Non-Profit Housing Association says people that are in the greatest need of housing are the ones who need the most affordable spaces – and fast, given the severity of the housing crisis.

“We could use more than 4,000 units just in Nova Scotia, quite a bit more than 4,000,” said Trish McCourt, the organization’s executive director. “That tells me that it’s probably still going to be a small number of units, relative to what the need is.”

But McCourt says her members are ready and willing to work with governments of all stripes to ensure long-term affordability.

“We won’t see that from the private sector, it’s the non-profit sector that’s going to make sure that those affordable units remain affordable,” she said.

Regardless, she’s excited this region is on the federal government’s radar.

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