Canadian homebuyers facing weeks of move-in delays tied to supply chain snags

The supply chain crisis has led to a series of material and labour shortages in Canada's homebuilding industry, leading to long delays for buyers looking to move in.

The global supply chain crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic is delaying more than just Christmas presents and semiconductors — it also disrupted the start of a brand new family for Val and Maja Borschevsky.

Before COVID-19, the plans seemed solid: the young couple from Toronto had purchased a pre-built home in the nearby town of Stouffville right before the pandemic hit Canada in February 2020, eyeing a move-in more than a year later in May 2021.

That date was looking increasingly ideal as Maja became pregnant with their first child early in the new year, but the move-in was then pushed back twice: first, due to construction delays related to COVID-19 and a second time due to a bricklayers’ strike.

By the time the couple finally got the keys in September — four months later than originally planned — the couple were hunkering down at Val’s parents’ place with Maja’s due date just days away.

She’s since had the baby and the couple are slowly getting settled into their first family home, but the uncertainty around what would be delivered first, the keys or the new baby, was unsettling, to say the least.

“We were definitely going through some crazy emotions at the time,” Val says.

“The one thing I’ll kind of say as a recommendation, if you’re going to be moving, make sure you’re going to do it before having the birth of a child. That kind of complicates things a bit.”

They’re not the only ones facing housing delays amid global supply chain disruptions, with homebuilding activity across the country snarled by a lack of readily available materials and labour.