Our Work

Four Pathways to Housing Affordability
November 19, 2024

The Blueprint for More and Better Housing, released in early 2024, provided a plan for Canada to build 5.8 million affordable, resilient and low-carbon homes. Although many of the recommendations have proven popular with policymakers and the public, getting buy-in for the overall vision can be difficult. Too often, those policymakers and the public see […]

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Ontario Communities Falling Behind on Homebuilding
November 18, 2024

Over the past six years, from Canada Day 2018 to Canada Day 2024, Canada’s population has grown by over 4.2 million people, requiring a substantial increase in Canada’s housing supply. This rapid naturally leads to the question, Which communities are getting it done when it comes to homebuilding? In this memo, Ontario Communities Falling Behind […]

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Less is More: Where we Build 5.8 Million Homes Matters
November 13, 2023

There is a broad consensus that Canada is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has estimated that 5.8 million homes, nationally, need to be built by 2030 in order to address the housing affordability crisis. In Ontario, the provincial target is 1.5 million homes. As part of […]

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Getting International Students To Stay and Work in Canada is at Odds with Our Policies
October 4, 2023

International students are an invaluable part of the prospective Canadian workforce that can help address the critical skilled labour shortages facing many Canadian industries, including construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. However, Canada’s current policies are at odds with the objective of having international students stay and work in Canada. If this is unaddressed, Canada will fail […]

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Addressing Forestry’s Skilled Labour Shortage: Insights from Women Working in Forestry
September 19, 2023

Canada’s forestry sector is facing a labour shortage due to a wave of baby boomer retirements and little interest from younger generations to pursue a career in forestry. Despite the need for more workers, women still comprise only 17% of the sector in Canada. One study also found that women in forestry are rarely in […]

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Working Together to Build 1.5 Million Homes
August 17, 2023

To keep up with an aging and growing population, it is projected that Ontario will need to build 1.5 million homes in the next ten years. Yet, Ontario has never built more than 850,000 homes in a ten-year period. Who is responsible for making this 1.5 million homes goal a reality, while making it happen […]

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National Housing Accord: A Multi-Sector Approach to Ending Canada’s Housing Rental Crisis
August 15, 2023

Rents have been increasing rapidly in many parts of the country, primarily caused by a lack of accessible, climate-friendly, affordable, and market-rate purpose-built rental units to house a growing population. Increasing rents inflict the most significant harm on the lowest-income Canadians, including seniors, people on fixed incomes, single-parent led households, students, newcomers to Canada, and […]

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We know Canada has a labour shortage. What should we do about it?
August 10, 2023

As Canada advances clean growth and climate action, tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of roles could be created in regions across the country. However, sectors are sounding the alarm about a challenge this growth could create: it may very well worsen labour shortages. This concern is valid. Without finding more skilled workers, increases in […]

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READY FOR GREEN JOBS
June 20, 2023

Clean growth and climate action in Canada could create thousands of jobs in the next seven years. With a potential 300,000 jobs created, communities across the country have the opportunity to thrive while moving Canada towards meeting its climate targets. Yet, two challenges exist to realize this vision.   Workers must have the required skills to […]

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SKILLED WORKER SHORTAGES: WE NEED TO THINK BEYOND ‘BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME’
June 7, 2023

Canada is experiencing a crisis in the skilled trades. Amid record-high job vacancies in sectors like manufacturing, alongside the number of Canadians nearing retirement outnumbering young people entering the working world, the demand for a new generation of skilled trades workers is soaring. Additionally, Canada has one of the most ambitious climate goals in the world. Over […]

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CAN MASS TIMBER SOOTHE CANADA’S HOUSING WOES?
May 18, 2023

5.8 Million. That’s the number of new homes Canada needs to build by 2030 to ensure there’s affordable housing for everyone, as estimated by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. There are many challenges that need to be addressed to resolve the housing crisis. At PLACE, there are two that are top of mind as we […]

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WE NEED BETTER WAYS TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS OF CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES ON JOBS AND WORKERS
April 26, 2023

Economists thinking about the workforce impacts of clean technologies should adopt a “value-chain” approach.

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POLICYMAKERS: USE FORESIGHT TO PLAN FOR GREEN JOBS
April 5, 2023

Increased automation, labour shortages, and a changing climate. These, and other trends, will impact workers in the decades to come. And when it comes to new, disruptive green technologies, all these trends come together to create complex challenges that policymakers must navigate. Policymakers concerned about the green economic future are being tasked with creating training […]

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WHAT DOES THE NEW VW PLANT MEAN FOR WORKERS IN ST. THOMAS?
April 4, 2023

This is a great opportunity for workers in Southwestern Ontario, but new skills training and education programs are needed.

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BUDGET 2023 & CANADA’S HOUSING SHORTAGE CRISIS
March 28, 2023

Budget 2023 fails to address Canada’s housing shortage crisis. The federal government needs more than a housing target, it needs a plan...now.

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INDUSTRIAL POLICYMAKERS NEED TO PUT COMMUNITIES FIRST
March 24, 2023

Policymakers need to ensure Canada’s new industrial policy help communities, instead of giving them additional challenges. Place-based thinking can help.

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ONTARIO’S HOUSING GOALS FALL FAR SHORT IN BUDGET 2023
March 23, 2023

Ontario’s 2023 Budget contains some bad news: we’re further away from meeting the provincial government’s 1.5 million housing target than we thought

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ONTARIO’S GREATER NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
January 11, 2023

An even greater need for affordable housing is found as recent data released by Statistics Canada shows Canada's population continues to grow.

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PLACE’S CONSULTATION RESPONSE ON LABOUR CONDITIONS
January 9, 2023

Read our submission to the Federal Consultation on Labour Conditions for Clean Tech and Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credits

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CANADA’S RAPIDLY GROWING POPULATION
December 21, 2022

In the last 3 months alone, Canada’s population grew by over 360,000 persons. What does this mean for creating a prosperous zero-emissions economic future for communities across Canada?

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AS THE WEATHER CHANGES
November 29, 2022

New Report on how clean growth and climate action in Canadian communities will be shaped by global economic trends

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WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE PLANT-BASED PROTEIN?
November 23, 2022

Plant-based protein is becoming common - where do they come from, how they are made, and how they can help with not only Canada's net zero climate goals, but Canada's economy.

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HOUSING SHORTAGES AND AFFORDABILITY IN CANADA
November 23, 2022

Places in Canada with housing shortages also have high housing costs and rents. Nowhere is this more true than in the Peel and York regions of Toronto.

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PLACE CENTRE’S VISION
November 23, 2022

A different, and better, future is possible for communities across Canada.

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