As we begin a new year, Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe is telling homebuilders that 2026 will be better than last year. Sutcliffe shared his plan to address a critical housing shortage by cutting red tape, but builders say there’s a long way to go. The main promise from the mayor is that Ottawa should lead the country in getting homes built, but it comes at a time when many Canadians have given up on ever being able to afford a home. Many Ottawa residents like Selim Kurklu are struggling to even get into the housing market. It was once a dream, but that’s changed. “Not right now, not with this economy,” said Kurklu. “I would have said yes if it was ten years ago, but not right now.” Kurklu says he thought he would be a homeowner by now, but it’s too expensive with interest rates and housing prices. “The interest rates on mortgages means it’s really hard to get a house, and down payments are too high,” said Kurklu. “It’s just not as easy for how it used to be. It’s cheaper to rent somewhere and not deal with the headache of trying to buy a house.” Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe outlined a plan to get shovels in the ground for new properties at a mayor’s breakfast for the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association. “We’re moving faster and that’s our number one objective is just to make it easier for people to build homes and to build them quickly,” said Sutcliffe. “The new zoning bylaw, together with the Housing Action Plan, are making that happen.” Developers and housing industry leaders gathered at the mayor’s event, including Robert Merkley, the CEO of a building materials supplier in Ottawa. “Ottawa is known for a lot of red tape and a lot of issues,” said Merkley, CEO of Merkley Supply. “The mayor has cut out a lot of issues to make things streamlined.” City council will decide on a new zoning bylaw, which calls for higher buildings up to eleven metres in some neighbourhoods, to allow for larger family-sized units. “We’re eliminating some of the studies that developers have to do before they get a property approved,” said Sutcliffe. “They’re costly and they take time and, in many cases, they’re not necessary.” Sutcliffe is hoping new initiatives will help those struggling to get into the market. “I sympathize with young people who are wondering if they’re ever going to be able to afford to buy a home,” said Sutcliffe. “The rising costs of housing has been a big challenge in Ottawa and in every city in Canada. We’re doing everything we can to make housing as affordable as possible.” As Ottawa anticipates a growing population, affordable housing remains a top priority for the year. “A big part of our problem is everyone is kind of stuck in the type of housing they’re in, whether it’s bigger homes or mid-size homes or rentals where there’s not enough vacancy and not enough supply in every segment of the market for people to kind of flow up and down into different housing,” said Jason Burggraaf of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association.
