Membertou feels crunch of not enough contractors to handle housing boom

There is good news and bad news for housing in Membertou, N.S. The First Nation has funding for a record number of new homes, but more contractors are needed because the existing ones are already busy building homes.

While Chief Terry Paul calls that a happy problem, relief may be a challenge because the same crunch in supply and demand of builders is widespread, according to an organization that matches skilled trades workers with builders.

Paul said Membertou tries to build up to 20 new houses every year, but the community is under pressure to finish 32 homes by this July under the terms of Ottawa's Rapid Housing Initiative.

In addition, it's got funding for 28 more under the federal housing accelerator program.

"This being our largest year in housing ever in Membertou's history. We've done outreach to all of our community contractors for employment opportunities in Membertou housing," Paul said. "All that want to work in Membertou here, they're working and that's great."

The community is reaching out to other contractors, but they all seem to be busy, Paul said.

"Our primary goal was to ensure that all Membertou contractors who wanted to be working were employed first, so with that well underway, we've also enlisted the help of some external support to make sure we're meeting our timelines."

The federal government has committed more than $82 billion under its national housing strategy to jumpstart construction amid what many are calling a critical shortage of homes.

Federal and provincial officials have recently been involved in a flurry of funding announcements across the province to build public housing in various communities.

Michael Montgomery, executive director of the Atlantic Home Building and Renovations Sector Council, said last year's provincial housing needs assessments identified the problem, but the solutions will not be quick or easy.

The council works with residential contractors to find skilled tradespeople to fill jobs and Montgomery said more building companies and more workers are needed.

"The demand for housing has increased exponentially at the same time as the availability of skilled trades workers and the capacity of the industry are being taxed," he said.

"It's just a matter of the enormity of the need really challenging the capacity of all of the partners and employers and workers in the system."

Capacity is building, but need is now

Provincial funding has been set aside to help community colleges attract and train new trades workers, but demand has outstripped the system's ability to quickly make more people available, and there needs to be a bigger focus on getting new entrants into the business of building homes, Montgomery said.

Paul said Membertou is already working to train more of its residents to build homes in the future, but is also seeking outside contractors now to get the immediate work done.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the rapid housing fund is expected to have created more than 15,500 affordable homes when projects announced this year are included.

A proponent unable to meet construction deadlines under the program would not lose funding simply because contractors are unavailable, the spokesperson said, and extensions can be offered on a case-by-case basis.