Made-in-B.C. Innovations are Helping Build Homes Faster

DIGITAL-hosted Housing Growth Innovation Showcase brings government and industry together to demonstrate practical technologies accelerating housing delivery in B.C.

VICTORIA, British Columbia, May 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- British Columbia needs to build more homes, faster. Today, DIGITAL is hosting the Housing Growth Innovation Showcase in Victoria to spotlight made-in-B.C. solutions that are helping transform how homes are planned, designed, and built.

The showcase focuses on DIGITAL’s Housing Growth Innovation (HGI) Program, supported by a $9 million investment from the B.C. Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, and how it’s helping industry accelerate housing production across the full housing lifecycle – from design and digital tools to modular and offsite construction, supply-chain coordination, and workforce capacity.

“There is so much creativity and innovation in the housing sector right now, and our government is glad to be a strong partner in it. We must continue to find new and better ways to speed up construction and help deliver the homes people need,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. “We’re excited to show how our work with DIGITAL’s Housing Growth Innovation Program is reducing the time and costs to deliver housing, to get people into their new homes sooner.”

“Solving housing challenges requires more than one government, one company or one technology,” said Elysa Darling, Chief Operating Officer, DIGITAL. “It requires coordinated action across public and private sectors to modernize how housing gets delivered. Through the Housing Growth Innovation Program, DIGITAL is bringing partners, capital, and technology together to accelerate practical solutions that improve productivity and help build more homes for families in British Columbia.”

Since the initial investment in 2023, DIGITAL has attracted additional investment totaling $14.4 million and engaged more than 50 sector partners, including Indigenous, regional communities, and private-sector companies, to drive rapid, results-oriented innovation across the housing construction sector.

The program is generating measurable results, including:

• Construction time reduced by up to 60 per cent and site assembly costs cut by up to 20 per cent through modular and panelized methods;
• A 1,760 sq. ft. mass timber home built in five days by local, mostly new tradespeople;
• More than 200 homes annually produced through mobile prefab micro-factory partnerships with Indigenous Nations;
  
  

“B.C. is leading the charge on housing innovation. We have the talent, the ideas, and the will – what we don’t have yet is scale,” said Amy Vilis, Director of the HGI Program at DIGITAL. “Across 14 projects, we’re seeing four kinds of impact: tools and methods the whole sector can use, commercial products that keep IP and jobs in B.C., demonstrations built and measured on the ground, and the workforce and partnerships needed to carry the work forward. Some are already in market. Others are case studies that tell us what works and what doesn’t. That mix is the point. We designed HGI as an innovation stack across the housing production lifecycle – not a list of pilots – so the proven pieces can be implemented and scaled by any builder, municipality, or Nation, here in B.C. and across Canada.”

The Housing Growth Innovation Showcase includes industry partners: Prakash Architects, Faber Technologies, Mercer International, Wesgroup, Archistar, Perkins & Will, ETRO Construction, and Turtle Island Connection. Technologies in the showcase include: Indigenous-led mass timber home kits, 3D generative design tools, AI-driven building inspections, modular manufacturing supply chain solutions, and scalable prefabricated housing models.

About DIGITAL

DIGITAL is Canada’s commercialization partner. It connects technology builders and buyers to accelerate the adoption and commercialization of Canadian technology solutions.

Established in 2018 under the Government of Canada’s Cluster Initiative, DIGITAL brings together industry leaders, SMEs, and post-secondary institutions to collaborate on large-scale projects that drive innovation and the development of technology solutions in sectors critical to Canada, such as mining and energy, housing, workforce development and health.

Since inception, DIGITAL has delivered billions in projected revenue for Canadian companies, retained sovereign IP, launched hundreds of commercial products, and helped tens of thousands of Canadians gain the skills needed for the digital economy.

That’s how we grow Canada.

For more information, visit: www.digitalsupercluster.ca.

Media contact

Julia White
Senior Director, Communications, DIGITAL
media@digitalsupercluster.ca | 604.828.2766

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
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