Sometimes the most useful ideas in real estate are not particularly complicated.
That came through clearly in my conversation with Bruce Firestone.
Bruce is an entrepreneur, developer and the founder of the Ottawa Senators. He has worked on major developments, fought through lengthy approvals and spent years thinking about how real estate can work better.
Yet one of the housing ideas we discussed was incredibly simple.
Build the basement so somebody can live in it.
That’s it.
No futuristic technology.
No enormous new programme.
Just look at a part of a house that is already being built and ask whether it could become a proper home for somebody else.
When Canada is dealing with a housing crisis, ideas like that deserve attention.
Bruce Firestone calls it real estate animation
Bruce uses the term “real estate animation”.
He is not talking about cartoons.
He means adding new revenue streams and additional useful functions to real estate.
A basement suite is a perfect example.
Imagine a typical two-storey home with a basement.
If the basement is designed with its own appropriate entrance and exit, Bruce points out that it can potentially accommodate a two- or three-bedroom apartment.
One building can now do more than one job.
That is useful from a housing perspective, but it can also make sense for the family living upstairs.
Housing for different stages of life
One thing I like about the basement-suite idea is its flexibility.
We tend to talk about housing in categories.
Rental housing.
Family housing.
Senior housing.
First-time buyers.
But real families do not live in categories.
They change.
Children grow up.
Parents get older.
Adult children sometimes come home.
Grandparents may want to live close to their family without sharing every room in the house.
A properly designed secondary suite can give families options.
Grandparents could live downstairs.
An adult child returning home could have a separate space.
A homeowner could rent the unit and generate income that helps cover the mortgage.
The same physical space can serve different needs over time.
That is smart housing.
Why isn’t this more common?
Bruce told me that he had spent years encouraging major homebuilders in Ottawa to consider ideas like basement apartments in new homes.
That tells you something about the real estate industry.
Change can be slow even when an idea seems straightforward.
Builders have established models.
Municipalities have rules.
Buyers have expectations.
Changing any part of that system takes effort.
But a housing crisis is exactly when we should be willing to question old assumptions.
If we are already digging a basement, could we design it more intelligently?
If a home could accommodate another household, should we make that easier rather than harder?
Those are worth asking.
Small changes can add housing
The scale of Canada’s housing crisis can make people believe every solution has to be enormous.
It doesn’t.
Major apartment developments matter.
Large mixed-use communities matter.
Smarter zoning matters.
But thousands of smaller decisions can matter too.
One additional legal suite may not transform a city.
Add the same idea across hundreds or thousands of suitable homes and the impact becomes much more interesting.
The key is recognising housing potential wherever it exists.
Affordability works both ways
There is another benefit to secondary suites.
They can potentially help both the person renting the suite and the homeowner.
The renter gets another housing option.
The owner gets potential rental income.
For someone trying to manage a mortgage, that extra income can make a meaningful difference.
That is why housing solutions should not always be viewed as one side winning and another side losing.
The best real estate ideas often create value for several people at once.
We need creativity as well as construction
Bruce and I spent a good part of our conversation talking about creativity.
Real estate developers need it because projects rarely go exactly as planned.
The same principle applies to the housing crisis.
Yes, Canada needs construction.
But we also need to think more creatively about what we construct.
Can homes accommodate multiple generations?
Can neighbourhoods support a better mix of uses?
Can properties generate additional housing without losing what makes the community work?
Can we make better use of spaces that are already part of the building?
These are practical questions.
Michael Ruge on looking beyond one big solution
I don’t believe Canada’s housing crisis is going to disappear because somebody discovers one perfect idea.
Housing is too complicated for that.
The more realistic answer is a collection of good ideas.
Improve the development process.
Look at zoning.
Reduce unnecessary delays.
Build sensible density.
Create mixed-use communities.
And when we build a house with a basement, ask whether that basement could become somebody’s home.
None of this needs to be revolutionary.
It needs to work.
That is what interests me about Bruce Firestone’s approach to real estate.
He looks at what is already there and asks how it can do more.
When millions of Canadians are thinking about the cost and availability of housing, that’s exactly the kind of practical creativity we need.
Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
Green Belts Forever – Michael Ruge’s Plan to Save the Countryside
Canada’s Housing Crisis and a Path Back to Ownership
Michael Ruge on Funding Real Estate Projects – A Smarter Way to Invest
Michael Ruge Author: Exploring Wealth and Wisdom Through His Books
