We’re actually not that bad when it comes to fossil fuels. Yes, petroleum exports are pretty bad (14% of all exports by value), but from an energy generation standpoint, oil only comes in after both wind and nuclear. Most of our electricity actually comes from hydro, despite the prairies having zero waterfalls. Our carbon emissions are actually mostly coming from home heating, which is pretty bad admittedly, but we’re finally starting to do something about it by subsidizing heat pumps, at least on the east coast.

As for the housing bit, yea. For-profit organizations are always going to do whatever is the combination of easiest and most profitable. Things won’t change unless if you make things either horribly unprofitable, or the government steps in and does it themselves. And of the two, I think the latter is the only way to make worthwhile change quickly. The government can quickly change the laws and nullify things like housing associations so that proper mixed use housing can be legalized in most places, then actually contract companies to make them, and make them quickly. It only takes two years to turn a plot of land into a fully functional mid-rise building, and that’s taking into consideration Toronto’s bad soil qualities for construction. One year for places with stable soil.

And if the government owns the buildings, it easily has the resources to actually have these buildings built, and could start raking in the profits as they’ll be filled out with pre-purchases immediately.