Carolyn Whitzman

If a single mother with a newborn baby starts looking for city-subsidized housing in Canada's largest urban centre today, she might see her child enter high school before they find a new home.

Chris Burke and his fiancée have been less than a year away from buying their first home for the past three years.

Canada's new housing and infrastructure minister says closing the door to newcomers is not the solution to the country's housing woes, and has instead endorsed building more homes to accommodate higher immigration flows.

The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.

Municipalities across Canada face housing development constraints in their communities that could be eased through more co-operation between all levels of government, says a report by a local governance think tank.