My regional district and local municipalities on the west coast of the island are just as stricken with the the issues of availability and affordability for housing. Housing has always been tight for the 46 years I've lived here and still is. Tofino led the pack with its affordability issues but prices everywhere in the region have skyrocketed. Despite the apparent abundance of unoccupied land in the form of tree farms and parks the old adage; land, they ain't making it anymore, couldn't be truer around here. Notwithstanding that at least one 1st nation here has developed and built housing and single-handedly been responsible for increasing housing stock by some 60% in the region. Some houses have been rented and others let on long term 100 year leases.
Everyone else is looking at increasing density within the limits of their respective jurisdictions. This has increased the ire of nimby's especially in the municipalities. In the regional district density changes will result in rules that allow two residences on as little as one acre instead of 2.5 acres, subject as always to the capacity of a property to deal with sewage and provide potable water. Nimbyism isn't as nearly as pronounced as it is in the towns. There was more of that in the past when cottage residential zoning was brought in that allowed for a residence and up to 4 rental cabins. The collapse of logging and fishing as mainstays in the economy 20 odd years ago however put pressure on planners to allow the zoning so people could have an income and a lot of the nimbyism seemed to fade away. In contradiction to appearances the explosion of tourism and advent of things like Airbnb seem to have whittled nimbyism down somewhat, not everywhere but it certainly has in my neighbourhood. STR's remain a hot topic in the towns.
There has been a noticeable increase in the number of city folk selling their places for big bucks and buying a place here with a cottage or bnb they could run. Proposed zoning changes seem to have increased interest in this but prices are going up so fast - not having the ability to generate an income is often the deal breaker especially for younger people trying to get in while or where they can. I see a bit of a zoning compliance shock coming up given how few applications for STR permits have surfaced. I know full well there are way more STR's operating in lieu of a permit at the moment but that said, virtually all the long-term rentals are just as illegal in the sense they're unregulated and without a permit as well. A lot of what people do around here has always hinged on someone not complaining but with that on the increase too...stay tuned I guess. Old timers around here get a kick out of the newly landed city-slickers who've become nimby's. Fortunately they seem to mostly pick on one another.
It appears resistance to increasing density is probably the number one factor causing housing issues in Canada's big cities.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/angry-neighbours-block-housing-that-canada-s-cities-badly-need-1.1698918