With skyrocketing rental prices, delayed construction and a lack of affordable community housing, Canada’s housing landscape is in urgent need of a shake up. Fortunately, entrepreneurs from across the country are stepping up to tackle these challenges head-on through CMHC’s Housing Supply Challenge.

While their approaches vary, these companies share a common mission: to make housing more sustainable, accessible and affordable for all Canadians. From reimagining construction workflows to creating affordable, eco-friendly communities, their efforts are paving the way for a better future.

Let’s meet the changemakers from the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge who are transforming Canada’s housing market.

One Bowl: Transforming housing for first nations communities.

One Bowl is a First Nations-led social enterprise dedicated to creating culturally appropriate, affordable and high-quality housing solutions for First Nations communities.

By working directly with communities, housing managers and councils, One Bowl serves as a collaborative partner, ensuring every project reflects the unique needs and traditions of the people it serves. Beyond housing, One Bowl is committed to driving economic growth, offering skills development and training and empowering First Nations entrepreneurship. Their mission is simple: provide high-quality homes and build a better future together with First Nations communities.

Promise Robotics: Revolutionizing construction with AI.

Promise Robotics is transforming how homes are built using AI-powered robotic systems, making construction more efficient and affordable. Launching in Summer 2025, its new 60,000-square-foot Calgary facility will produce up to 1,000,000 square feet of housing annually.

This expansion is built on the success of their Edmonton facility and Factory-as-a-Service (FaaS) platform, helping builders scale production with AI-driven robotic tooling. Their approach addresses significant challenges in the construction sector, such as labor shortages and stagnant productivity. By automating tasks, Promise Robotics accelerates the building process while enhancing precision and quality. 

Ratio.City. a division of Esri Canada: Empowering smarter housing decisions.

Ratio.City, a proud DMZ alumni, is a cutting-edge platform designed to equip real estate developers, architects and urban planners with the data and tools they need to make informed decisions.

Their solution addresses the common challenges of early-stage planning, such as identifying viable land parcels and navigating complex zoning regulations. By integrating essential data and visualization tools into a single, user-friendly platform, Ratio.City simplifies the planning process, helping users assess project feasibility and move forward with confidence.

Tapestry Community Capital: Unlocking community investment for housing solutions.

Tapestry Community Capital empowers non-profits, charities and co-operatives to fund housing projects by raising low-cost capital through community bonds.

They’ve worked with some of Canada’s largest social enterprises, providing the expertise needed to plan, launch and manage successful community financing campaigns. Their platform and consulting services help housing providers tap into local support, ensuring they can access financial resources to create community-driven housing solutions.

If you’ve ever wandered through Kensington Market to explore its bakeries and eclectic shops, you’ve experienced a neighbourhood preserved by community finance. With Tapestry’s support, the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT) raised over $1 million from 165 investors to purchase and preserve affordable housing and commercial space. 

UTILE: Redefining student housing.

UTILE is a social economy enterprise dedicated to creating sustainable, affordable housing for Canadian students. By leveraging modular construction and innovative financial models, UTILE develops scalable solutions that reduce pressure on urban rental markets while promoting academic success and well-being.

Their energy-efficient designs and use of durable materials ensure a minimal environmental footprint, making student housing a catalyst for community development and a sustainable future.

Are you addressing critical issues in Canada’s housing market?

Check out DMZ’s Centre for Housing Innovation at dmz.to/CHI for more details on its accelerator program and training opportunities for housing professionals, manufacturers and entrepreneurs.

With interest rates projected to drop, the buzz around housing affordability is louder than ever. Most of the focus has been on the benefits lower mortgage rates bring to buyers, but the reality is that affordability doesn’t end with the mortgage for homeowners. It’s just the start.

Through its platform, Metronome helps homeowners and buyers calculate and understand what it truly costs to own a home and how to plan ahead. A shockingly 57% of homeowners say they would have approached buying a house differently had they realized the true cost of homeownership.

The reality is, lower rates might make homeownership feel more within reach, but the hidden costs that come after—including maintenance, property taxes, utilities and surprise repairs—can quickly turn a new home into a serious financial burden.

At DMZ, we’re committed to empowering startups that support Canada’s housing industry. From consumer technology that supports financial planning for homeowners to platforms that provide real estate developers with data to build faster, we believe strengthening our housing space will take innovation and startup solutions from across the board. 

How being house poor impacts more than just homeowners.

Being house poor creates significant challenges for the housing industry. Homeowners often feel stuck, unable to move for better jobs or lower living costs because they can’t afford the transition. At the same time, high demand for affordable housing drives up prices, pushing more buyers out of the market and increasing competition. This makes it harder for the industry to accurately address supply and demand, keeping affordability out of reach for many.

In Canada’s priciest markets, some folks are forking over up to 60% of their pre-tax income to keep a roof over their heads. Experts suggest not spending more than 30% of your income to avoid becoming house poor, meaning a ton of Canadians are seriously feeling the pinch. 

So, what actually comes after the interest rate?

This is where Metronome steps in. A DMZ Incubator startup, Metronome is rethinking how Canadians approach homeownership. By helping users forecast required replacements, maintenance, and repairs and the associated costs, the platform turns hidden expenses into manageable plans, giving homeowners confidence and control.

Homeownership isn’t just about mortgage payments—there’s the upkeep to think about too. Experts say you should budget 1–4% of your home’s value each year for maintenance, repairs, and replacements. For the average $800,000 Canadian home, that’s $8,000–$32,000 annually, on top of taxes, insurance, and utilities. 

As costs continue to rise, staying organized and proactive is key to protecting housing investments. Metronome’s centralized dashboard simplifies homeownership by empowering homeowners to: 

• Stay organized: Securely store all your important home documents—warranties, receipts, insurance policies and more—so you always feel in control.
• Plan ahead: Create a personalized maintenance plan to tackle upkeep tasks with confidence, avoiding costly surprises.
• Save money: Get alerts for policy renewals and access competitive quotes to ensure you’re always getting the best rates.
• Predict expenses: Gain a clear picture of your expected home-related costs for the next five years to budget effectively.
• Protect your home: For as little as $700 a year, access protection plans that cover appliances, your furnace, AC, and more, preventing unexpected repairs from derailing your finances.

“Buying a home is exciting, but the first few years can be overwhelming with unexpected expenses and maintenance demands,” says Paul Crowe, CEO of Metronome. “Every home is unique, which is why generic budgeting advice falls short. Metronome provides tools, guidance, and predictive insights to take the guesswork, and the stress, out of homeownership.”Interest rate drops are exciting for buyers, but they’re only part of the story. The real conversation needs to include the hidden costs of owning a home and how we can make it easier for Canadians to navigate them.

We know innovation is key to tackling Canada’s housing challenges. Tech can streamline processes, create transparency and give everyone in the ecosystem better tools to make informed decisions. 

Want to learn more about how Metronome is making homeownership easier? Head to trymetronome.com.

Want to scale your startup with the same support Metronome is receiving? Check out DMZ’s Incubator program and see how we can help you grow. 

Behind every startup, there’s a unique story that showcases the grit, vision and creativity of its founders. From personal struggles to unexpected opportunities, these entrepreneurs have transformed their challenges into innovative solutions, shaping their companies along the way.

At DMZ, we’ve witnessed countless founders take their ideas from concept to reality, overcoming obstacles and creating impactful businesses. We wanted to profile five startups and highlight how these founders share one common trait: they identified a problem and had the tenacity to build something great to solve it.

From guitar strings to studio kings: How a musical gap year led to Soundspace.

Richard Anderson, Founder and CEO of Soundspace, is a prolific guitar player who knows exactly how costly it can be to pursue your passion. Before entering an MD-PhD neuroscience program, Richard decided to take a gap year at the Berkeley College of Music. He began looking for spaces to record his songs, but found the process extremely expensive for any solo artist. While chatting with studio owners, Richard identified a gap in the recording industry: high demand from creatives and low utilization of studio spaces.

His desire to bridge the gap by making creative spaces more accessible propelled him to create Soundspace. Built by a team of like-minded music buffs, Soundspace is available across the United States to book your next studio session, rehearsal or podcast.

Health hack hero: How giving women a smarter system for health, without sacrificing style, led to Loba. 

Kate Bouchard, Founder of Loba, transformed her personal struggles into a thriving business. After being diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and uterine fibroids, Kate found herself juggling frequent visits to the doctor. Managing multiple medications and supplements with different dosages, she realized there wasn’t a practical or aesthetically pleasing, tech-enabled solution for organizing pills.

That’s when the idea struck her: women deserve a product that makes managing pills an enjoyable experience—without feeling like they’re pulling out grandma’s pill organizer. With her background in advertising and the support of healthcare professionals, Kate set out to create just that and Loba was born.

Data dreams: How tapping into corporate chaos founded SmartConcil.

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SmartConcil’s founder, Victor Salinas García, is a system engineer from Mexico with a long history of developing solutions for financial institutions. In 2017, one of Victor’s clients needed help with automated data consolidation. Surprised that a tool was not already out there, Victor saw an opportunity to build it himself.

After moving his company to Canada, he transitioned his service-based company to a product-focused startup. Today, SmartConcil is an internal auditor for mid-sized and large corporations to automate data collection, analysis and classification.

Out-of-office, not out of luck: How email woes inspired Snoooz.ai

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Snoooz.ai was born from a pivotal moment in Founder Chitresh Singh’s journey as a Customer Success Manager, where missing a single email nearly cost his team a $30,000 renewal. With multiple team members out of office, a frustrated client escalated the issue, pulling in executives and risking valuable relationships. This wasn’t just an operational oversight—it was a wake-up call.

Chitresh realized people shouldn’t have to choose between work and taking a break. So, he developed Snoooz.ai, an AI-powered email assistant that sends personalized, context-aware auto-replies and loops in designated team members on critical opportunities and escalations. Today, Snoooz.ai empowers hundreds of businesses across 60+ countries by delivering timely, personalized out-of-office email responses, seamlessly bridging the gap between personal well-being and professional success.

From career fair to founder: How a bold leap of faith paved the way for Talin

In his third year at Toronto Metropolitan University, Julian D’Angelo randomly stumbled upon a DMZ career fair. He met the CEO of Optimity, who a week later asked Julian to work for them as a sales representative. To everyone’s shock, Julian agreed and only took one university course a semester for six years to pursue a startup career. He then became the Head of Growth at Ross Intelligence and ran a fractional consultancy. During that time, Julian noticed one key challenge all startups faced: the inefficient and manual world of staffing.

This led to Julian taking the plunge to create Talin, an automation platform designed to streamline operations for recruitment agencies. Building Talin has shown Julian the highs and lows of the startup journey. From being stuck in his basement working side gigs to pay the bills, to raising $800k in a pre-seed round, Julian says that watching the Talin team grow is “the best feeling in the world”.

Looking to take the next step as a founder? Head to dmz.to/programs to learn more about what program is best for you.