Over the past few years, the pace of change in Canada’s land development sector has accelerated dramatically. Rising construction costs, shifting buyer behaviour, skilled labour shortages and evolving policy expectations – including new incentives, exemptions and financing tools – are forcing developers to make decisions faster, and often with far less certainty than before. 

In response, pivoting has become the industry’s default response. Developers rush to line up for new incentive programs before they change. Projects speed up or pause based on short-term conditions rather than long-term strategy. These decisions are often driven by fear of financial exposure, uncertainty around demand or political pressures to respond quickly – but speed does not always lead to better outcomes.

When volatility drives decision-making, the housing system begins to drift away from what communities will need years from now.

Family-sized units, affordable, accessible and sustainable homes, and thoughtfully designed community infrastructure can fall away when the focus shifts to immediate risk instead of enduring value. This causes a ripple effect across the pipeline, disrupting trade partners, straining municipal planning processes and eroding public trust in the industry’s ability to consistently deliver the housing our communities need. 

Short-term pivots may relieve immediate pressure, but they cannot create long-term stability. What our sector needs now is steady, people-first leadership, grounded in preparation, values and the discipline to stay focused on people, even when the market shifts around us. 

Why leadership requires foresight, not reaction

To me, leadership begins with anticipation and careful planning. It means listening closely, engaging deeply and acting early enough, so we’re prepared long before market signals catch up. It means staying grounded in values when external conditions shift almost daily. 

Leadership also requires alignment and trust.

Daniels has teams across construction sites, development, design studios, sales and leasing desks, investment and community partnerships. Ensuring they move with clarity requires a shared “North Star,” built on transparent communication and cross-team collaboration — because when our internal systems are aligned, we can move through external complexity with confidence.

Above all, leadership is about raising the bar and bringing others along. The most enduring progress in our industry has come from shared frameworks, not isolated wins. That is why our long-term commitments, from building more complete, mixed-tenure communities to expanding accessibility design standards, investing early in decarbonization and meaningful community engagement, are rooted in a simple principle: prepare early, stay steady and lead in ways that enable others to deliver.

What long-term leadership looks like in practice

Much of the industry is now accelerating toward purpose-built rental and mixed-income communities because today’s conditions demand it. At Daniels, these have been foundational to our work for decades.

From master-planned neighbourhoods to highrise communities, we have consistently delivered a mix of both market and affordable rental and ownership housing options. Stronger communities are built when people have real options on how and where they live, across housing types, tenures and life stages.

This principle has guided collaborations with organizations such as Mary Centre, Kerry’s Place and Community Living Mississauga and our longstanding relationship with Habitat for Humanity GTA and affiliates. These partnerships allow the integration of affordable and inclusive housing options within larger communities, not as a standalone initiative, but as an expression of a broader commitment to housing that reflects the diversity of people and needs within a neighbourhood.

A new townhome rental community under construction in Brampton’s Mount Pleasant Village reflects another long-term commitment: continuing to deliver housing this market increasingly demands.

Steady leadership does not ignore economic realities, it navigates them deliberately, maintaining momentum on housing that communities need rather than waiting for perfect conditions to return. At a time when many projects are being paused or cancelled as the sector waits for conditions to stabilize, this approach prioritizes continued delivery and long-term value for residents and communities.

Accessibility that’s built in, not bolted on

Accessibility remains one of the biggest leadership gaps in real estate today. Nearly one-in-five Canadians lives with a disability, and as the population ages, more people will experience mobility, sensory, cognitive or intellectual challenges, shaping how they navigate their homes and communities.

Yet accessible housing remains in short supply.

For years, the Daniels Accessibility Designed Program (ADP) has embedded accessibility into all our communities, going well beyond the minimum requirements of the Ontario Building Code. ADP set a new internal standard for how accessible features could be thoughtfully integrated into multi-unit residential buildings.

To strengthen industry-wide practice and transparency, we publicly released our detailed ADP Technical Standards Guide in February 2025. It outlines the specifications and design principles behind ADP, making it easier for developers, consultants and partners to learn from, adapt or build on the approach in their own work. Sharing this framework openly reflects our belief that progress accelerates when leadership is collective, not proprietary.

Leadership in this space requires proactive, not reactive, thinking. The more we treat accessibility as essential infrastructure rather than an optional add-on, the stronger, more equitable and more resilient our housing systems will become

Decarbonization: the long game

Real estate is a major contributor to Canada’s carbon footprint, and the pressure to decarbonize has intensified. But meaningful climate action cannot be built on short-term incentives alone. 

Before decarbonization became a central industry theme, we began developing internal roadmaps, investing in building science expertise and designing communities with energy performance in mind. Those early investments now allow teams to make climate-conscious decisions with confidence, not reaction.

For example, the MPV2 community utilizes geoexchange technology in mid-rise condominiums, to provide heating and cooling with significantly lower carbon footprint compared to conventional systems, reducing operating emissions by more than half. MPV2 also uses energy-efficient building envelopes that support whole-life carbon goals set out in our Decarbonization Roadmap.

Meanwhile, at Daniels on Parliament in Regent Park, EcoPACT low-carbon concrete has been piloted to reduce the embodied carbon of structural materials. These initiatives reflect a broader effort to move beyond compliance and embed low-carbon materials and systems into new communities

Community engagement: building trust over time

The same long-term thinking applies to community engagement. Thoughtful, ongoing consultation with the communities where we build leads to stronger outcomes and greater trust amongst community members. 

In Regent Park, this approach has been reflected in sustained, community-led initiatives that prioritize long-term social infrastructure alongside physical redevelopment.

The Regent Park Social Development Plan (RPSDP) was shaped through extensive resident engagement and continues to guide investments in employment, education and community well-being. Community gardens and shared green spaces support everyday connection, while local hiring and training initiatives help ensure economic opportunity is created alongside new housing. 

The creation of Daniels Spectrum as a community cultural hub further reflects the value of investing in spaces that respond directly to local voices and needs.

These initiatives show that sustained, long-term engagement leads to more resilient communities than short-term approaches.

Why steadiness is a competitive advantage

In a market defined by extremes, steadiness is not rigidity; it’s clarity.

Steadiness is the ability to respond to change without being consumed by it. Steady leadership supports teams, strengthens relationships with trade partners and development partners and provides municipalities with the predictability they rely on to advance approvals. It ensures we’re building for the needs of tomorrow, not only reacting to the conditions of today.

Just as importantly, it prevents overcorrection, which represents the cycle of chasing yesterday’s incentives instead of delivering communities that will endure.

Agility still matters. Market cycles are inevitable, but leadership is defined by how organizations prepare for what comes next while continuing to deliver through periods of uncertainty.

Canada cannot build its way out of a housing crisis through short-term responses. What the sector needs are leaders willing to think in decades, not cycles. We need leaders who invest early, share openly and prioritize people over volatility. The communities we deliver today will shape lives for generations. 

If we raise the bar together, we can build a housing landscape that stands the test of time and fosters a genuine sense of belonging.