Scraping off the Rust

A Different Approach to Public Housing in New Brunswick

New Brunswick’s public housing shortage is growing, and so are the excuses. In a recent CBC article, Housing Minister David Hickey acknowledged the scale of the challenge, suggesting the government is slowly “scraping off the rust” from its bureaucratic machinery to get homes built. Source: CBC News.

“We’re scraping the rust of an organization that was not been building housing for 30 years. That means standing up a lot of work. Over those 3 decades we’ve seen the issues that have compounded in this province.” Minister David Hickey, June 2025.

The problem? The rust isn’t just slowing us down — it’s paralyzing us.

Let me share a comparison. A private-sector developer I met with recently described how they could take a 24-unit project from permits to keys in doors within a year. Meanwhile, public housing units are trickling in — with the province delivering fewer than 60 per year, despite thousands waiting. At this pace, it would take decades to catch up.

The private sector doesn’t have rust. It has blueprints, builders, and capital ready to go.

So why not meet this moment with the urgency it demands and work with builders who can deliver — quickly and at scale?

A Better Way: Partnering for Results

Here’s a five-point plan that could work — and in some cases already has:

1. Stop relying on inclusionary zoning: asking developers to voluntarily set aside a few “affordable” units won’t meet demand — especially for deeply affordable public housing. This tactic can help at the margins, but it won’t solve a system-wide shortfall.

2. Contract with private builders to deliver units annually: instead of building government-run housing from scratch, contract with willing developers to deliver a fixed number of new public housing units each year. It’s already been done: In 2024, the province purchased a newly constructed multi-unit building on Fredericton’s Northside directly from the private sector. More of that, please.

3. Use modular construction for speed and year-round builds: modular housing isn’t just for emergencies. It can accelerate timelines, lower costs, and enable winter construction. Other Canadian provinces — such as B.C. and Ontario — have utilized modular construction to add hundreds of units of supportive and transitional housing in record time.

   1. Under BC Housing’s Rapid Response to Homelessness program, the province invested $291 million to develop over 2,000 modular supportive housing unitsacross communities, with on-site support for people at risk or experiencing homelessness.

   2. In Vancouver, temporary modular housing projects, such as Naomi Place and Margaret Mitchell Place, were completed in record time—typically within about three months—and together comprise over 600 modular units for individuals experiencing homelessness, along with wraparound services including meals and mental health support.

   3. In Durham Region, Ontario, the Durham Modular Transitional Housing project in Beaverton was constructed using prefabricated modular systems, demonstrating the rapid delivery of transitional housing through modular technology at scale.

   4. Next week, Saint John will open its first designated “green zone” for the 12 Neighbors’ first Neighbourly Homes community in the city.

4. Leverage land grants in city-led developments: when cities like Fredericton plan new neighbourhoods, such as along the Doak Road, they should earmark parcels for public or non-profit housing — at no cost. Fredericton has been doing this on a smaller scale, as seen in the 2024 land donation for the Habitat for Humanity housing project. Let’s scale this up in new neighborhoods, such as Doak Road, and unleash rapid deployment with private developers.

5. Outsource maintenance to professional property managers: the government is also struggling to maintain its current housing stock. Recent CBC reporting found dozens of units sitting vacant due to mismanagement and disrepair (Source: CBC News). If we want to expand supply and preserve dignity for tenants, we need professionals managing these properties.

   
   

Why the Status Quo Fails

As of today, more than 13,000 New Brunswickers are on the public housing waitlist¹. Yet the government is only delivering a few dozen new units per year. In the face of that math, the current approach is not just slow — it’s structurally doomed. We don’t need more studies, reports, and promises. We need construction.

And we don’t need to do it in-house. Government can — and should — set the standards, fund the outcomes, and get out of the way of private sector builders who are ready to deliver.

Conclusion: Forget Rust, Deliver Results

Minister Hickey is right — the government has rust. It will take years to scrape off the rust in the bureaucracy while the waitlist continues to grow. The government has various tools at its disposal, including land, funding, partnerships, and the authority to act on a larger scale.

It’s time to discard the old ways of doing things and utilize our collective time and abilities wisely.

This isn’t just about buildings. It’s about the thousands of New Brunswickers — seniors, families, and individuals — waiting for a safe, secure place to call home.

They’ve waited long enough.

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