RETHINKING POLICY: HOW THE EV SHIFT PARALLELS HOUSING

In a November 18 BIV story, the headline read: B.C. abandons EV rebates to the Feds as it scraps sales mandate of 100% by 2035.

The article notes that British Columbia has dropped the Electric Vehicle (EV) rebate program and is stepping back from the goal that every new vehicle sold must be zero-emission by 2035. Energy Minister Adrian Dix points to slow uptake, high prices, and infrastructure gaps. He also shifts responsibility for incentives and long-term targets to the federal government.

Sound familiar? The auto sector often serves as a comparison point for policy and market behaviour, and the EV story shows what happens when targets outpace real capacity. Our housing industry is facing a parallel challenge.

Government has set bold housing targets, yet the system is constrained at every stage. Approvals take time. Policies shift often. Fees rise. Financing is tight. Infrastructure is underfunded. Buyer demand has weakened. We are at a critical point, with multiple pressures slowing – and stopping – delivery across the province.

Recent BCREA reports show that unit sales are lower than last year and prices have softened. CMHC  reports a decline in housing starts, with condominium apartment starts falling 13.4% in the first half of 2025. CHBA’s Housing Market Index shows builder confidence falling to new lows, and layoffs continuing across British Columbia. This is not a system equipped to deliver at the speed current targets assume.

Investment activity tells the same story, too. BIV recently highlighted a drop in apartment-building sales in Metro Vancouver. When investors slow down, fewer projects enter the pipeline. Fewer projects mean fewer launches and fewer completions. The end result? Affordability pressures remain front and centre.

A public opinion poll by Canada Pulse Insights for CityNews Vancouver showed that 84 percent of non-owners in the region do not believe they will ever own a home.  Low confidence reduces demand, which leads developers to pause or pivot projects. This mirrors the slowdown in EV adoption when rebates ended and cost barriers stayed high.

The EV shift also shows the influence of incentives and supportive government programs. Interest in EVs grew when rebates lowered the risk for buyers. Once those supports eased, demand dropped.

Housing faces similar pressures. Fees and charges rise. DCCs increase. Carrying costs climb. Approval timelines stretch. When costs rise, fewer projects move, and housing delivery targets slip further out of reach. Purpose-built rental continues to anchor current housing starts which shows how targeted programs can drive results. Rental supply matters, but it should not be at the expense of homeownership pathways.

The lesson from the EV decision is not about cars. It is about policy design. Product targets work only when the system behind them is set up to deliver. When the gap between policy and delivery grows, governments need to adjust timing, expectations, and incentives.

The housing industry needs the same level of reassessment.

BC’s housing targets are ambitious (approximately 40,000 homes over the next five years), and the federal, provincial and many municipal governments want to move housing forward. But with current policies, pricing, approvals, market conditions, slowed homebuyer activity, affordability pressure, and increased taxes and levies, the gap between expectation and capacity continues to widen.

Although outlined simplistically here, a stronger approach starts with three steps. First, review approval timelines and remove delays. Second, assess fees and charges to understand which support supply and which create friction. Third, use incentives that encourage the right projects, including family-oriented homes and forms aligned with local demand. Housing also needs to be looked at from a holistic perspective.

In high-performance building, the Integrated Design Process (IDP) brings all project stakeholders to the table from the start, to identify challenges, goals, support required, solutions etc. Housing policy needs the same model: all levels of government working with industry to align timelines, costs, expectations, and supportive policies to reduce the layered impacts caused by siloed decisions.

If government is willing to rethink EV policy when the system cannot support the original goal, the same reasoning should apply to housing. The stakes in our industry are higher and the need is immediate.

We are seeing early signs of responsiveness, with government showing openness to adjust timelines and targets as conditions change, however there is still work ahead. HAVAN continues to be at the table sharing member insights and practical solutions. As this dialogue grows, our role is to stay clear and responsive, ensuring policy adjustments reflect real-world capacity and support the delivery of homes our region needs.