The Government of Alberta said they could withhold cash for municipalities if they delay housing developments with red tape, at a time when Alberta is experiencing a record number of home starts.

On Nov. 13, Alberta Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon, flanked by development industry advocacy group BILD (Alberta, Edmonton Metro and Calgary Region) members, announced the Stop Housing Delays portal.

It’s an online portal open to developers and municipal authorities to identify and log areas “that are preventing fast and efficient residential construction.”

“Through this portal, developers, municipalities and other partners in the housing industry can share their experiences of unnecessary red tape or roadblocks that are slowing down the home building process,” Minister Nixon said.

“They can share with us how certain laws, bylaws or processes are causing delays to help us, help us understand barriers that are preventing quick and efficient residential construction.”

Nixon said the work is ongoing to ensure the competitive advantage Alberta has with home prices remains, compared with the rest of the country.

The announcement comes at a time when Alberta has seen 33,577 housing starts from January through September 2024, which is a 35 per cent increase from the same period in 2023. Further, Alberta has broken a 47-year-old record with 9,903 apartment unit starts in the province.

Calgary housing starts specifically are up 23 per cent in 2024, according to the Government of Alberta.  

Nixon said they’ll collect the data and find ways to address common areas of concern.

“Once these are submitted, my department will collect the information on the delay and work with the appropriate area of government or other governments to address the concern and find a solution,” he said.

“This will help us see where we are able to make quick policy changes or where we need to dig in further.”

Addressing delays can be time-consuming and costly: BILD Alberta

Scott Fash, CEO of BILD Alberta Association, said that while they work with municipalities that are national leaders in housing, complex issues can arise. When they do, it can be onerous to find a solution, he said.

“When these issues emerge, our current options for addressing them are often limited and can be both time consuming and resource intensive. This is where the new portal can make a real difference,” he said.

“It provides industry a clear way to communicate issues that we experience on the ground, many of which elected officials may not even be aware of, from inconsistent provincial and municipal approval timelines to land dedication requirements that may contravene legislation.”

Brian Hahn, CEO of BILD Calgary Region, said that they’re looking forward to lowering and eliminating barriers to housing supply, to help deliver affordable housing to Calgarians.

“Key to driving affordability in those projects that… our members are delivering is minimizing the cost and time barriers that all of those projects must go through in terms of processes in order to obtain approval to proceed,” he said.

“We support all initiatives intended to lower and eliminate time and cost barriers to land development and additions to housing supply.”

This year, the City of Calgary moved ahead with a process to review new growth applications on an ongoing, concurrent basis, rather than in batches. Along with that change, they specified that any new growth applications would be considered and  only potentially approved provided it coincided with budgeted infrastructure investments.

Still, land availability and new growth node approval has long been a source of contention between the City and developers. That, along with the calculation of off-site levies.

Calgary is experiencing an unprecedented growth in population, and demand for housing options, according to a statement from the City.

“While Calgary is a leader in the delivery of more housing options, we are always looking for opportunities to improve,” said Jeff Chase, Chief Housing Officer.

“The City is committed to working collaboratively with the development industry and the Government of Alberta to get more housing built and meet the needs of Calgarians. We are actively working to simplify planning policies, streamline processes and reduce barriers to the development of new housing.”

The City of Calgary didn’t directly answer a question on whether they were informed or consulted on the province’s new portal.

Money is the hammer: Minister Nixon

When asked how they will get municipalities to comply with proposed changes to reduce housing delays, Minister Nixon was blunt.

“The hammer’s money. I hope that we don’t have to go there,” he said.

“I’ve been very clear with municipal governments that hold ups on housing in significant ways will factor into funding decisions, not just for my department, which does fund lots of projects in municipalities across the province, but for departments like Transportation and Municipal Affairs.”

Nixon said thus far they haven’t had to go down that road because municipalities have responded. He said he hopes that continues.

“If we’re going to invest inside communities in the province, one of the criterias will be that that community is taking that their role in housing seriously, so we can continue to develop our province,” he said.

Previously, the Calgary Construction Association has said one of the biggest barriers to driving further housing starts is the availability of skilled labour.

Minister Nixon said labour is one of the pinch points with housing progress. He said they’ve addressed it by trying to attract the right skilled trades to Alberta. They’ve also made investments in education and post-secondary to ensure there is a growing stream of workers ready to fill the labour gap.

Hahn said three years ago he had doubts about the ability to attract enough labour to meet the building industry demand.

“But quite clearly, industry has been able to find enough labour or come up with creative and innovative solutions for three years on the trot, hit record numbers,” he said.

“Certainly the attractiveness of Calgary and the region as a place to live, and its relative affordability nationally, is a big driver of that. In addition to attracting thousands to come and make Calgary their home, it’s also attracted those who work in the industry, and it’s supported that effort as well.”

The housing delays portal can be found here.