Amid a global affordable housing crisis, Canadians are feeling the squeeze. Since 2004, Canada has seen the fastest rise of home prices relative to incomes in the OECD, according to the University of Ottawa's Missing Middle Initiative. Affordability is no longer primarily a Toronto and Vancouver problem. Cities across the country are seeing historic high prices, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports, with millions of new housing units needed to bring supply back in balance with demand.

For municipal leaders, addressing a housing shortage is particularly challenging, as factors such as high interest rates and the rising cost of labor and materials lie outside of their control. Despite these constraints, however, city leaders across Canada are being creative about identifying and leveraging the tools they do have to streamline permitting and regulations, reduce construction costs and boost housing supply.

Underlying these efforts is the critical work of strengthening core operations. Leading cities are using data to assess the gaps in their housing markets, fix pain points in development processes and measure their progress. And increasingly, they're using artificial intelligence to pick up the pace. Five Canadian cities — Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Winnipeg — have achieved Bloomberg Philanthropies Works Cities Certification, meaning that they are among the best in the world at using data to deliver better results for residents. Here are some lessons from each of them to keep in mind as local leaders look for new ways to innovate on housing in 2026:

First, set ambitious but achievable goals and track your progress. In Winnipeg, Mayor Scott Gillingham set a goal of approving 8,000 new housing units in 2024 — and accomplished it ahead of schedule. The point of setting a target, Gillingham said, was "to have every department see themselves as a housing department." Collaboration extends outside of City Hall: Winnipeg's Affordable Housing Concierge Service supports non-profit housing groups, developers and Indigenous housing providers as they apply for housing permits. Through the program, city staff help applicants navigate the permit approval process and better coordinate across city departments such as Zoning and Land Development.

Second, identify what you can influence and drive impact. While local leaders can't control macro factors like interest rates, they have great influence over how difficult or easy it is to get housing built in their community. They can cut red tape out of permitting processes, strategically rezone land to encourage new development and make underutilized publicly owned land available for housing development, among other strategies. Small changes can add up to big savings for builders, home buyers and renters.

Edmonton is a great example. Edmonton implemented Canada's first "auto-review" feature for development permits. Builders constructing single or semi-detached homes in outlying areas — the least complex and most common projects — can now get permits immediately, instead of waiting roughly 20 days. Calgary also is seeing success. City leaders there used a detailed analysis of housing availability and land-use data to inform zoning changes that dramatically accelerated housing construction. In 2025 alone, Calgary added a record 28,000 new homes to its housing supply, more than doubling its typical pace over the past ten years.

Third, leverage AI. Amid lean budgets, stretched city staffers can use AI as a force multiplier. For example, Hamilton is using AI to prescreen development applications for required documentation. The process shaves days off permitting times on routine approvals, freeing up staff to handle more complex cases. There are roles for AI in helping cities to streamline housing regulations, identify buildable land and answer common questions residents, homebuilders and even city employees have. And new use cases are emerging all the time. For example, Ottawa planners use AI to model future development scenarios within an interactive digital replica of the city known as a "digital twin." They're also developing an AI chatbot to make it easier to navigate a new zoning law using natural language.

No single strategy is going to overcome a housing crisis as large as the one Canada's cities are facing. However, local leaders are demonstrating they can make real progress when they test new strategies, deploy AI thoughtfully, measure progress and do more of what works.

Rochelle Haynes is Senior Vice President & Managing Director of Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities