MHABC Quarterly Newsletter – Spring 2025 : Modular Housing Association of BC

Highlights Meet Our Board Board Matters What's New? Statistics

Highlights

2025 BC MODULAR HOUSING SUMMIT sets stage for a game-changing future!

The 2025 BC Modular Housing Summit—hosted once again at the Penticton Lakeside Resort and Conference Centre—was a resounding success. With a SOLD OUT crowd of MHABC members, municipal leaders, industry experts, and key stakeholders, the summit reinforced modular housing's critical role in delivering scalable, sustainable, and community-integrated housing solutions across British Columbia.

Monday, May 5 kicked off with the much-anticipated Gerry Brown Memorial Golf Tournament at the stunning Fairview Mountain Golf Club, where players enjoyed a Texas Scramble format, complimentary refreshments, and great networking. The day wrapped with the Welcome Social, providing a lively and relaxed environment for attendees to connect and build relationships over appetizers and beverages.

Summit sessions began Tuesday, May 6, with opening remarks from MHABC President Chris Andersen, and words from the City of Penticton’s Mayor Bloomfield. The program launched with the exciting province-wide rollout of the Modular Standardized Design Program, delivered by Paul Binotto and Gord Rattray of Modular BC—highlighting BC’s strong commitment to factory-built solutions.

Throughout the day, attendees explored timely topics via a mix of keynotes, concurrent sessions, and panels:

Modular Permitting Made Easy with Ron Burnett (Town of Oliver) and Gord Rattray (Modular BC) introduced the new Permitting and Inspection Guide
Economic Forecasting and the rise in modular demand was explored by Bryan Yu of Central 1 Credit Union
Sustainability in Modular Systems was discussed by Steve Arnold (Building Energy Solutions), while Laura Kershaw (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) gave updates on national housing initiatives
A special luncheon featured Yasir Sultan (National Research Council) diving into affordable housing and national modular collaboration

The afternoon’s energy continued with standout sessions including:

“The Flow and Economics of the Energy Landscape” by Ben Nishi of FortisBC
A powerful future-focused panel with Mayor Simon Yu (Prince George), Mohamed Al-Hussein (University of Alberta), Darren Bassett (SRI Kelowna), and Peter Moonen (Canadian Wood Council), moderated by Paul Binotto (Modular BC).

The day culminated in the Presidents’ Banquet, featuring a reception, raffles, dinner, announcement of the 2025 Innovation Award winners (Best Single Family Home – Under $250,000 – Chaparral Industries for their Shuswap Park Model Home, Best Single Family Home – Over $250,000 – Eagle Homes for their Horizon Haven Home, Best Corporate Website – Pine Ridge Modular, Best Customer Service – Countryside Manufactured Homes, Rising Star Award – David Carlesimo of Eagle Homes, Excellence in Industry Leadership Award – Frank Ambler of Countryside Manufactured Homes), followed by casino-style entertainment. It was a perfect way to celebrate innovation and community spirit.

Wednesday, May 7 offered additional valuable insights. After breakfast and MHABC’s Annual General Meeting, the day moved into sessions on:

Indigenous housing strategies
Modular innovation with Dr. Al-Hussein (University of Alberta), and Peter Moonen (Canadian Wood Council)
Safe setup practices by Tami Der (WorkSafeBC), and Colin Mullet (Knightway Transport)
And a webinar on onRoute and streamlined permitting led by Nicole Hilborne and Amanda Hammer

To cap it off, an optional delegate field trip toured the Moduline Plant and completed modular home sites, offering a firsthand look at the production and implementation of factory-built housing.

MHABC extends sincere thanks to the amazing speakers, generous sponsors, dedicated partners, and enthusiastic attendees who made this year’s summit a game-changer. The collective momentum continues to drive innovation, affordability, and action across BC’s modular housing landscape.

Stay tuned this fall for our 2026 summit location and date announcement!

2025/2026 BOARD of DIRECTORS

Meet Our Board

Chris Andersen - President

Iconic Island Dwellings

Todd Plotnikoff - Vice President

Northpoint Commercial Finance

Amanda Hammer - Treasurer

Hammer Ventures

Darren Bassett - Director

SRI Homes - Kelowna

Shawn Donohoe - Director

Shamrock Manufactured Home Services

James Ellis - Director

Eagle Homes

Greg Stolz - Director

Gordons Homes Sales

Colin Mullett - Director

Knightway Mobile Haulers Ltd.

John Pushor - Director

Chaparral Industries

Matthew Salmon - Director

Triple M Housing Ltd.

Phil Sensenig - Director

Pineridge Modular

Special thanks to our Key Partner Fortis.
Please visit Fortisinc.com for information on Delivering a Clean Energy Future.

Board Matters

Spring 2025 Board Meeting Schedule

During the Spring, the Board held video conference calls January 14th, February 18th, March 18th, April 15th, May 20th, and June 10th. The next meeting is scheduled following the summer break to be held by video-conference call on August 26th, 2025.

Home Shipments

Home shipments at the end of the 1st quarter, ending May 31, 2025, were below plan. The 2025/2026 budget was based upon an average of 42 homes per month with the actual average figure being 40 homes per month for a total of 119 homes.

Government Advocacy Program Update

Over the last quarter, the MHABC’s Government Advocacy, which involves focusing on both MHABC and ModularBC priorities including transportation, certification standards, permitting efficiencies and Bill 44 objectives.

On MHABC priorities, communications continue with Building and Safety Standards Branch on CSA Z240MH and Step Code 3 related issues.

On Modular BC matters, the joint MHABC/Modular BC project to develop permitting and inspection checklist continues at a fast pace. The formal introduction of the checklists was focus during the MHABC’s SUMMIT as well as the following Building Officials Association of BC Conference held in Kelowna the following week. The MHABC/Modular BC team was able to conduct at checklists workshop at the BOABC conference and followed up with webinars to the Lower Mainland and Southern Interior Zones.

Finalization of standardized “plex” design development as the towards achieving the goals of the provinces Bill 44 initiative are advancing quickly.

Transportation Update

The MHABC Transport Team met with CVSE on two occasions to discuss transport issues including the current work on bridge repairs at Sicamous and coordination of transport during construction hours. Other transportation issues included current challenges in moving wide loads through paving projects. The transportation teams also raised the issue of the Anarchist Mountain view-point Highway 3 and the transport constraints due to relocation of no-post rails during a previous project.

Communications continue with the companies operating on both the Sicamous Bridge and the Summerland Slide projects with information being provided to members via the MHABC monthly e-newsletter in terms of contact numbers and travel time windows as they evolve with each project.

The Transport tram is also working on a pilot project for 5-metre-wide transport from Fruitvale to Cranbrook, if approved, this will provide an approved 5-meter route from Kelowna all the way through Cranbrook and back through Golden to the Alberta border.

Discussions and feedback on the updated enRoute system have gone over with rave reviews in seeing an instant improvement in permit processing efficiency. Members may now use their BCeID to login for oversize and overweight term permits and pay online via credit card. Over time, this enhanced system will also include further permitting approval.

Marketing Program Update

The Marketing Committee completed the final design and production sign-off for an updated MHABC trade show booth backdrop and zip stand, both of which were launched at the BC Modular Housing Summit. These items are slated for use by MHABC staff and Directors while attending industry events over the course of the coming year.

The Marketing Committee also completed enhanced revisions to the Innovations Award program with the introduction of new categories: Best Corporate Website, Best Customer Service, Best Trades Professional, Financing Trailblazer, Industry Rising Star, and Excellence in Industry Leadership—broadening the awards from being solely home-focused to more fully representing the industry as a whole. The new categories were marketed both online and through e-newsletters to attract submissions for these prestigious additions.

A significant amount of time and effort this past quarter was devoted to creating marketing campaigns, designs, and content to promote the BC Modular Housing Summit through social media posts, press releases, programmatic advertisements, e-newsletters, and targeted email campaigns—ultimately resulting in a sold-out event!

MHABC Group Health Benefits

Please keep the MHABC’s Group Health Benefits Program in mind. Information is available by contacting the office. Our Group Health Program arises from out Membership with the BC Trucking Association.

Proud Supporters of the Ronald McDonald House Charity

The MHABC is a contributor to the Ronald McDonald House Charity – BC and the Yukon. Contributions are made quarterly based upon the number of homes shipped during the prior quarter. Ronald McDonald House serves the children (and families) of BC and the Yukon requiring treatment at Childrens Hospital.

Whats New?

Grant McDowell 2025 Memorial Bursary Award Recipients Announced

The Grant McDowell Memorial Bursary Award program provides financial support to students who are the son or daughter of a Manufactured Housing Association of British Columbia Member (or Member’s employee) who are graduating from secondary school and registered to continue their educational path at a post-secondary institution. The MHABC has awarded two deserving scholastic candidates each with a $1,500 Bursary this year. Congratulations to Nadia Alves who provided her application under the auspices of Moduline Penticton, and Jovin Bach who provided his application under the auspices of Triple M Housing. A photo of each will be included within the summer update.

Housing Targets

B.C. government to set housing targets for 20 more communities

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Housing Market Index – Update

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Report

Statistics

Shipments and Certification Type Year to Date Report - Ending May 31, 2025

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MHABC Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2025

Contents