Developers are ready to build more housing. How can the federal government help?

In a small factory in Granby, Que., south of Montreal, workers are preparing steel-reinforced concrete panels to be shipped to construction sites.

These prefabricated components can come with insulation, windows, doors and even a Juliet balcony.

"I call it 'ready-to-wear' for construction," said Virginie Brouillard, vice-president of Avac Beton, which was founded by her family four decades ago.

The idea, said Daniel Goodfellow, a housing developer who joined the company's ownership in 2021, is to build homes "cheaper, faster and better."

When Goodfellow joined, the company shifted its focus on unique, ornate concrete moulds to components that can be used on large-scale housing developments, including his own projects.

His company, Werkliv, specializes in student housing and has developed projects in several cities across Canada. Goodfellow said his foray into prefabricated housing is part of a broader effort to make the whole process of getting housing built more efficient.

As it stands, he said, the delays in everything from obtaining permits to securing federal financing make it nearly impossible to get housing built quickly.

He said the average development project takes a decade or more to complete. "It's just simply too long," he said. "I'd really like to see the government treat it like a crisis."

Quebec — like much of Canada — has seen housing costs rise dramatically over the past few decades.

The median price of a single family home has more than doubled in the past 10 years. It's now about $600,000 in the greater Montreal area, according to the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers. Rents are also climbing at a historic rate.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has estimated Canada will require an additional 3.5 million housing units by 2030, on top of the 2.3 million already projected to be built, to restore affordability to levels seen in 2004.

With the cost of housing soaring in Montreal and much of the country, Goodfellow is among those hoping to see major changes from the next federal government.

"Let's build as much of this stuff as we can," he said. "This is a real supply problem."

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war casting a shadow over the election, the cost of housing remains a key issue for many voters.