It took “cold hard cash” to push Canada’s largest city into tackling a massive housing supply shortage. That’s one lesson Toronto’s former chief planner says Australia could learn as it attempts to correct a massive deficit in new homes in the next decade.

With $C4 billion ($4.5 billion) on the table to support zoning rule changes and increased housing supply, the Canadian government convinced local municipalities to ditch restrictive planning laws and change rules that make development more difficult.