During the month of February, we had the honour hosting a four-part education series in collaboration with Cahdco, the University of New Brunswick, CIH Canada, and many organizations and experts who came in to share their experience.

As a houser based in education, mentorship and stewardship, I felt like potentially I was the wrong person to be coordinating this endeavour. My personal experience and knowledge with modular homes came from living in one when I was a teenager (that my parents were very clear never to describe as a trailer), and then a little bit of learning I’ve been fortunate to do on study tours.

What I learned through this course is that “modular” is just one piece of something much bigger called Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). These methods include everything from full 3D modular units to flat panels, mass timber, and even hybrid systems that mix different approaches together. At first, I assumed this was mostly about speed (which it is). But it’s also about cost, efficiency, and even energy performance. The examples that we were given from places like Attainable Homes Calgary and Maison Bonneville show that these methods can help deliver housing faster while improving quality and consistency.

And honestly, given how intense Canada’s housing shortage is right now, that makes sense. There’s a growing push, especially through initiatives like Build Canada Homes, to use these kinds of approaches to build more housing, faster and at scale that is replicable and attainable. Modular construction can help give us that.

There are some practical realities I hadn’t considered: things like crane access, factory production schedules, and supply chain limits. While Modern Methods of Construction is innovative, it also presents some new challenges for access, especially for rural, northern and remote communities. The costs don’t always end up coming in cheaper either; sometimes the pre-printed materials and the labour that goes into making them connect can be more costly than traditional materials and methods.

One of the many things that I enjoyed while coordinating the sessions and speakers, is that MMC is not just technical (though it definitely is technical…and while I learned the technical in the moment, I don’t know that I could recite it for this blog), but it’s also intentional. We had discussions about building houses that work, using housing solutions that encourage community, including Indigenous-led housing and supportive housing that prioritizes durability, privacy, and long-term use for the communities which they are built for.

I have so much gratitude for Paige Waldock from Cahdco and Brandon Searle from the University of New Brunswick for bringing their expertise, their stories, and their connections to the learning series. It would not have been what it was without them, and I think that others, alongside myself, were able to learn a lot. We need to continue to think of innovative solutions to the housing crisis and to scale up community housing to match the statement of housing being a human right.