As quickly as it came, the XXV Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina concluded its 19-day run on Sunday.
Whether you are a sports enthusiast or not, the Olympics have an unmatched ability to bring together people from across the country to cheer on athletes who are at the peak of their respective sports, resulting from years of grueling training, discipline and sacrifice. National pride was palpable as colleagues, friends and strangers gathered in their red, white and maple leaf-donned apparel in boardrooms and bars, many sharing photos of these moments on social media.
With a final medal count of 21 — 5 golds, 7 silvers and 9 bronze — the Canadians performed admirably. For many, the Canada vs US hockey games were the events to watch, not only because the rosters featured the “who’s who” in both women’s and men’s hockey but for national pride. At a time when Canada’s sovereignty and economic relationships have faced strain with our southern neighbour, many hoped a gold medal would be a visible symbol of Canadian resilience.
However, the dream of gold remained just out-of-reach for our teams and instead they brought home the silvers, which is still an incredible feat. Despite not getting the gold, I know many Canadians like me were proud of our teams. In the face of disappointment, they continued to demonstrate what being a Canadian was about – grit, tenacity and heart.
There is something powerful in watching a country rally behind those who have mastered their craft, and I believe our housing industry deserves to be viewed through the same lens.
In Metro Vancouver and across Canada, homebuilders, renovators, designers, trades and suppliers dedicate their careers to their craft. They invest time learning on the job, complete apprenticeships, invest in equipment and teams, navigate evolving building codes and energy requirements, build trust with consumers, and carry significant financial risk long before a home is ever sold or renovated.
And yet, unlike Olympic athletes, our industry is rarely cheered on.
Too often, “builders” or “developers” are treated as a monolith — large, faceless entities driven solely by profit. That narrative overlooks reality. According to a 2023 report by ICBA, more than 99 per cent of construction businesses in Canada have fewer than 100 employees, with most operating as small or sole-proprietor enterprises. Whether a company is large or small, together, these are local entrepreneurs who sponsor community sports teams, support hospitals and youth trades programs, hire apprentices and take pride in every project they complete.
The housing crisis is a cumulative effect of policy layering, escalating costs, prolonged permitting timelines, regulatory overlap and misalignment across levels of government. Pricing pressures are often reduced to accusations of greed rather than attributing systemic factors that shape final home prices.
But what if we applied an Olympic lens to housing?
What if governments and the greater public recognized that, like athletes, housing professionals operate within systems that shape outcomes? An athlete cannot control the weather, the judging or the competition field. A builder cannot control municipal approval timelines that stretch 18 to 24 months, rising development cost charges, or shifting regulatory frameworks. In Metro Vancouver, development charges and related fees can account for 30% of the cost per home in some jurisdictions. And now, with the recently announced BC Budget, more costs will be added to housing with the additional School Tax, and removal of the PST exemption for professional services. These are conditions outside of the industry’s control and yet impact its ability to perform.
What if we also acknowledged the discipline required to deliver a home today? Builders must meet increasingly stringent energy standards, seismic requirements, Step Code and Zero Carbon Code targets, and evolving municipal and provincial design guidelines. These are important public policy objectives and they also demand technical expertise, training and significant capital investment. Much like high-performance sport, excellence in homebuilding requires continuous learning and adaptation.
The Olympics remind us that progress is collective. Athletes rely on coaches, trainers, medical teams, sponsors and national sport organizations. Housing delivery is similarly interdependent with governments, utilities, financial institutions, planners, trades, suppliers and builders required to align to produce homes at the scale and pace our country requires. When one part of the system falters, the entire outcome is affected.
The Olympics occur every four years — a recognition that excellence requires time, stability and sustained investment. Yet housing policy often shifts annually. Regulations evolve, targets move, and new requirements layer onto existing ones. How can we expect professionals to plan, invest and train for long-term performance in an environment where the rules rarely stay the same?
As Canadians, we instinctively rally around those who represent hard work, perseverance and commitment to excellence. The people in our housing sector embody those same qualities. They build the places where families gather, where children grow up, where newcomers start new chapters.
The Olympics unify us because they humanize performance. We cheer on the athletes because they resonate with us– we see their faces, hear their stories, and can empathize with their sacrifices. The housing industry needs more of that humanization. At HAVAN, we continue to highlight the people behind the projects, through our advocacy efforts, consumer outreach, awards programs, education programming and events. To bring their successes and challenges to the forefront.
If we are serious about addressing affordability and supply, we must continue toward collaboration – it should not be an “us vs them”. We win when we work together and recognize the professionals behind the projects and create policy environments that support, rather than hinder, delivery.
We are starting to see some shifting of perspective as we speak with government. As mentioned in my February 9 Monday Briefing, speaking to local MPs during Day on the Hill in Ottawa, we were connecting these decision-makers to the issues and explaining how housing is a national issue that we can’t ignore. We encountered more questions about how they can help instead of being simply dismissed (although there is still more education to be done). We encouraged the federal officials to pull the policy levers that are easier to implement – like getting the GST exemption for first-time buyers through the system now as we’ve already been waiting for a year. They need to rally behind the builders striving to put roofs over Canadians’ heads, just like we do for our Olympic athletes striving for gold.
Grit. Tenacity. Heart.
Those are not only Olympic virtues. They are the foundations of a resilient housing industry and of the homes it builds.
CHBA Day on the Hill 2026 (L to R)- Henri Belisle, HAVAN Board director and CHBA BC 2nd Vice President; Jonathan Meads, HAVAN Chair; MP for Richmond East-Steveston Parm Bains, Wendy McNeil HAVAN CEO; Rick Mann, HAVAN representative on CHBA Urban Council.
Share your thoughts at wendy@havan.ca.
HAVAN continues to work with CHBA BC and CHBA to advocate for all levels of government to work together tress the challenges of the housing industry including zoning restrictions, density limits, and NIMBYism.
Looking to stay up-to-date on Metro Vancouver’s residential housing industry? Sign up for Wendy’s weekly Monday Briefing and other HAVAN emails here.
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