British Columbia’s modular-housing industry sees the ongoing U.S.-Canada tariffs dispute as a catalyst for the sector’s expansion.

Industry members and politicians told The Globe and Mail that increased government modular-housing investment can address housing affordability while boosting employment.​

Paul Binotto, director of Modular BC, emphasized the sector’s readiness.

“What’s unique is this is ready to go,” he told the Globe. “The factories are already operating, and to get them to the next level won’t take years or months – we can start tomorrow.”​

Modular construction involves prefabricating housing units and other real estate asset types in factories before assembling them on-site. This method offers precision, reduces waste, and accelerates project timelines, advocates assert.

Darren Bassett who oversees modular-home factories in Penticton, B.C., and Kelowna, B.C., contends that the industry is being underutilized.

“I would argue we’re at less than 20% capacity right now,” he told the Globe.​

He noted that each factory currently employs about 150 workers but has the potential to expand.

“If we were to get up to full capacity, we would be employing about 500 people per plant, easily,” he told the Globe.

The provincial government has initiated steps to support modular construction. In 2023, standardized housing designs were introduced to expedite small-scale multi-unit housing projects. Additionally, policies are being developed to streamline the approval process for modular units.

However, challenges remain, particularly in overcoming misconceptions about modular housing, according to Bassett.​

In his interview with the Globe, he noted that a modular housing is not a mobile home. It is just housing, including multi-residential, built in a factory before being shipped to simply housing that is mostly built in a factory before being shipped to its permanent site.

He noted that it’s precision built and, consequently, less wasteful, more energy efficient, and less intrusive than a conventional development because installation is quick.

A major benefit: Inspection and Canadian Standards Association certification occur in the factory before shipment. And, a training program is already in place to fill jobs quickly, he told the Globe.​

But the Globe noted modular-housing financing structures pose hurdles. While traditional construction loans involve staged payouts, modular factories require upfront payments, leading to cash-flow pressures.

Vancouver-based developer and planner Michael Geller told the encountered such challenges in a previous foray into modular housing.​

“It seemed so obvious,” he told the Globe. “But the way the cities wrote the zoning, it wasn’t conducive to putting a modular unit on a standard-depth lot.”​

Municipal leaders are taking proactive measures, according to the Globe. Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley leads a task force, which includes mayors from Nanaimo, Penticton, Prince George, and Williams Lake and aims to facilitate modular-housing adoption.

“Outside of what’s happening with [U.S. President Donald] Trump, I’ve always felt that we need to become more self-sufficient,” Hurley told the Globe. “We should have learned this through COVID, too. If you think about the supply-chain issues we were having, it left me feeling, ‘What do we really produce in Canada that we rely on others so much?’ We really have an opportunity now to turn that around.”​

He further advocated for local value-add opportunities.

“It has always been a big bugaboo of mine that we ship raw materials out,” he told the Globe. “My belief is that we shouldn’t ship anything out of Canada unless it’s finished here and producing good jobs for us. If you want to get the economy really rolling, you have as many people working in good jobs as possible.”​

The task force plans to collaborate with B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon to advance modular housing initiatives, the Globe reported.

Kahlon expressed support and confirmed to the Globe that he will meet with the mayors’ task force soon..

“Our Homes for People action plan embraces new technologies like standardized design, digital permitting, mass timber and prefabrication to get more homes built faster,​” he told the Globe.

Photo: Stack Modular