Systems Thinking for Scale: The Prefab Solutions Policy Playbook

At Prefab Solutions, we believe that solving Canada's housing crisis requires more than building individual homes faster, it requires rebuilding the system that delivers housing. Through our advocacy and analysis, we have consistently advanced a suite of interconnected, system-wide ideas designed to move prefab construction from a marginal alternative to a mainstream, scalable solution.

Our recommendations, explored in depth on The Modularity Blog, form a coherent policy playbook focused on de-risking projects, accelerating timelines, and building a resilient domestic industry.

Core Recommendation 1: Create a National Library of Pre-Approved Designs

We have championed the creation of a national digital library of pre-approved, code-compliant prefab designs as the single most effective tool to accelerate construction.

• The Problem it Solves: The biggest drains on time and capital are soft costs: endless permit reviews, custom engineering for each project, and hesitant lenders facing 'one-off' designs.

• The Systemic Solution: A library of provincially or nationally vetted designs turns a custom project into a repeatable product. It shifts municipal permitting from a months-long technical review to a weeks-long administrative check. For lenders and insurers, a Design A-1 with a proven track record is a de-risked asset, leading to faster approvals and better rates. This idea has been powerfully validated by municipalities like Saugeen Shores, ON, which launched its own pre-approved design catalogue in late 2025.

• The PrefabIQ Link: Such a library could be operationalized through platforms like PrefabIQ, whose Product Configurator and Compliance Management modules have built-in code compliant designs, with capability to host, customize, and review designs against local bylaws.

Core Recommendation 2: Modernize Financing & Procurement

The financial system must catch up to modern construction methods. We advocate for two key changes:

1. Prefab-Aligned Financing: Urging CMHC and lenders to offer construction loans with milestone disbursements tied to factory progress, not just on-site work. This provides manufacturers with the working capital they need to operate efficiently.

2. Government as an Anchor Tenant: Calling on all levels of government to publish multi-year procurement roadmaps for social housing, schools, and other public assets. This predictable, portfolio-scale demand gives factories the confidence to invest in automation, skilled labour, and supply chains, lowering costs for everyone.

Core Recommendation 3: Harmonize Zoning & Streamline Permits

A patchwork of local rules is the enemy of scalable manufacturing. We recommend:

• Provincial Leadership in Zoning Harmonization: Advocating for provinces to standardize core elements of zoning (e.g., setbacks, heights for missing-middle housing) to allow prefab models to be deployed across multiple municipalities without costly redesigns.

• Mutual Recognition of Factory Certification: Pushing for a system where a module built in a certified factory in one province is automatically accepted in another, eliminating redundant inspections and barriers to interprovincial trade.

Core Recommendation 4: Build a 21st-Century Workforce & Innovation Ecosystem

A new industry needs new skills and continuous innovation. Our ideas include:

• Factory-First Trades Training: Promoting the creation of new apprenticeship pathways in digital fabrication, modular assembly, and advanced wood construction, moving the workforce from precarious site work to stable manufacturing careers.

• A Network of Centres of Excellence: Proposing a nationally coordinated network of R&D hubs (inspired by existing models like UNB's MAMCE) to drive innovation in materials, robotics, and sustainable building systems, ensuring Canadian companies remain globally competitive.

The Unifying Vision: An Integrated Housing Industrial Strategy

Individually, these are smart policies. Together, they form the blueprint for a Canadian housing industrial strategy. This strategy would leverage our timber resources, manufacturing expertise, and technological innovation to create a resilient, export-capable sector that builds the homes we need here at home.

We hope this article clearly summarize the exciting progress on the ground and the forward-thinking policy framework needed to sustain it. Our work at Prefab Solutions is dedicated to making this integrated vision a reality, transforming a collection of good ideas into the operating system for Canada's housing future.

References for Prefab Solutions Ideas:

1. Prefab Solutions. (2025, Oct 30). "The Blueprint for Speed: Could a Pre-Approved Design Library Unlock Affordable Housing?" The Modularity Blog.

2. Prefab Solutions. "A National Prefab & Modular Housing Strategy" (Thought leadership piece summarizing system-wide recommendations).

3. Prefab Solutions. "The Prefab Catalyst: A National Strategy to Build Better and Empower a New Industry."

4. PrefabIQ Platform. Modules for Product Configuration, Compliance Management, and Project Management.