Ontario Home Builders Association Launches 2026-2026 Advocacy Strategy

Toronto, Sept. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ontario Home Builders Association is pleased to launch their 2026-2026 advocacy strategy, Raising the Standard. 

“Ontario’s housing challenge will not be resolved through incremental adjustments alone. While recent actions by the government have begun to address key barriers, the next phase of reform must focus on deliberate, outcome-driven changes that improve affordability, accelerate approvals, reduce unnecessary costs, and strengthen accountability,” said Scott Andison, CEO of OHBA.

Building on the foundation established in 2025, this strategy shifts from broad themes to a focused set of specific, practical actions the Ontario Government can take to move the needle in the near term while supporting long-term system improvement.

“We introduced our advocacy strategy at our Queens Park Advocacy Day in May and are formally launching it in the lead up to the 2026 OHBA Conference, presented by Enbridge,” said Kirstin Jensen, OHBA’s Vice-President of Policy, Advocacy & Relationships. She continues, “This strategy informed the development of the breakout panels we are hosting at our conference – we will be delving deeper into these topics and how we can best achieve our goals, using one collaborative, collective voice between OHBA, our local HBAs and our members from across the province.”

These priorities are the result of a collaborative effort among OHBA’s policy committees—the Land Development Committee, Regulatory Affairs Committee, and Technical Committee—as well as the Ontario Renovators’ Council, and ongoing member consultation. Their collective input ensured that the issues most critical to Ontario’s home building and renovation industry are reflected in this strategy.

These priorities reflect the need for continued structural reform to reduce costs, improve predictability, support compliant operators, and ensure the housing system functions more effectively across Ontario.

The strategy is divided into seven key pillars of advocacy: 

1. 1. Continue reducing the cost of housing delivery - Continued targeted action is needed to reduce government-imposed costs, fees, charges, and procedural barriers across the housing development and approvals process, while supporting renovation activity that creates new housing supply.

1. 2. Expand infrastructure financing tools to support growth - Explore and implement new infrastructure financing tools that reduce reliance on development charges and private project-level financing, recognizing that housing-enabling infrastructure is a public good and that the current approach, which places a disproportionate share of growth-related costs on new housing, is not sustainable.

1. 3. Strengthen permit-level enforcement of builder legitimacy - Mandate that building permit applications for new home construction include both the applicable HCRA registration number and Tarion enrolment/warranty information, require Chief Building Officials to verify both prior to permit issuance, and prohibit permit issuance where required credentials are not provided, including requiring owner-builders to obtain an HCRA registration number for their owner-built homes.

1. 4. Formalize industry participation in Building Code Development - Ensure the home building industry has a formal and ongoing role in the development and modernization of the Ontario Building Code, including representation for OHBA on the building code advisory committees, participation in part-by-part code reviews, and engagement on harmonization decisions, as those responsible for building to the Code must be directly involved in shaping it.

1. 5. Embed the Home Building Industry in Integrated Energy Planning - Commit to structured, ongoing collaboration with the residential construction industry on integrated energy planning, electrification strategies, fuel choice, and connection policy to ensure housing delivery, infrastructure planning, and evolving energy system objectives remain aligned, recognizing that builders deliver the homes the energy system ultimately serves.

1. 6. Modernize the Approvals Process Through Qualified Professionals and Peer Review Reform - Expand the recognition and use of qualified professionals to support complete applications and technical review processes, while establishing clear guardrails to prevent unnecessary, duplicative, or applicant-funded peer reviews, ensuring qualified professionals can advance applications without undue interference.

1. 7. Support the Development of a Renovator Licensing Framewok - Work with OHBA and industry stakeholders to explore and develop a provincially-recognized renovator licensing framework that strengthens consumer protection, combats the underground economy, and enhances professionalism across the renovation sector.

The OHBA Conference is an annual three-day event that brings together a diverse group of delegates from across Ontario’s home-building industry to connect, collaborate, and celebrate. This year’s conference is being held at Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood from September 27-29, 2026. The full conference agenda can be found here.

The full Raising the Standard document can be found on the OHBA website here.

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About OHBA:

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association is the voice of the building, land development, and professional renovation industry in Ontario, representing 4,000 member companies organized into 28 local associations across the province. OHBA collects, analyzes and distributes information to its members and the general public; advocates on behalf of the industry to the key stakeholders; promotes innovation and professionalism within the industry; promotes affordability and choice in housing; and provides group benefit plans and other membership services.

Since 2007, OHBA members have built more than 700,000 homes in more than 500 Ontario communities. The residential construction industry employs more than 500,000 people across the province and contributes more than $66.6 billion dollars to Ontario’s economy.

Contact:
Liz Davidson
Manager, Communications
Ldavidson@ohba.ca / 416-677-1975

Liz Davidson
Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA)
416-677-1975
ldavidson@ohba.ca