Shame there aren't billions in real estate profits that could be used to attract workers with higher wages.

There isn't a labour shortage, there are more people working than ever, there is a demand shortage - the same demand that is saying the supply is the problem.

If you want to get workers you have to pay them competitively (in relation to what other companies are offering). I work in an office but if someone offers me twice the salary I would go in construction.

Saying there is a shortage of labour is like going to the store full of bread, demanding to buy the bread at 10% the asking price & when they won't sell it to you at that price complain there is a huge bread shortage ... as you stand in the middle of a huge stock of bread (and with enough money in your pocket to easily afford the asking price).

It's just propaganda to not pay workers more & keep profits up. There is no labour shortage.

Shame we never considered bringing in construction workers as we process over a million new immigrants a year.

Edit

I'll provide some links since I am coming off as racist/anti immigrant

here's a gov of Canada link to a pilot program for construction immigration strategies

Another article

“Despite this program’s utility, it excludes applicants with experience as construction trades helpers and labourers, which is one of the top two residential construction occupations most in need of workers.”

Both of these articles are from the worst priced housing markets (BC and Toronto) and both talk about temporary pilot programs/completely ignored labor skills resulting in continued construction labor shortages, which should be nearly impossible when bringing in a million people with favorable entry to construction workers.

I'm on mobile and I don't really feel like pumping out tons of articles to prove everything I say, but essentially the marketing on immigration has been "we're bringing homebuilders to Canada to relieve the housing crush" and the reality is "we're using immigration to prop up housing and suppress wages, with little actual home builders coming in who then require training anyhow."

Another comment mentioned that it's hard to ensure training and knowledge/understanding of trade skills, and language barriers can prevent people with construction experience from being able to work. So instead of enticing Canadians to get educated in jobs we need, we import them and make them take training anyhow to keep wages down.

I'm not trying to say immigration is bad, but what's happening in Canada is in reality far far away from the wave of homebuilding immigrants that was promised

A thought experiment for the industry:

If you paid workers $150,000, would you still have a shortage?

If the answer is no, then there really is no "shortage", is there?

The for profit house building industry should NOT be allowed to be involved with the solution to the housing crisis. They created this mess to benefit from it, and should be not involved any longer.