>Why do elevators in Canada cost three times more than in Western Europe? And what impact is that having on the development of new buildings at a time when Canada needs more homes?
>Canada is an increasingly urban nation, but the soaring cranes across its cities mask surprisingly few elevators – around four for every 1,000 Canadians, slightly ahead of the United States but behind every other high-income country with available data. Switzerland has half the population of Ontario and almost four times as many elevators. Greece has 10 times as many elevators per capita as Canada.
>Elevators in Canada are far more expensive than in Europe. A new elevator in a small, mid-rise apartment building in Canada costs the developer upwards of $200,000, compared to roughly a third of that cost in Europe. Canada’s expensive elevators are both and cause and an effect of our more suburban, low-rise settlement patterns – we rely less on apartment buildings so there is less of an outcry over high costs, but those high costs also continue to make family apartment living less affordable and attractive in Canada.
>The high cost of elevators in Canada also means some smaller buildings have none at all, limiting accessibility. Larger buildings have fewer elevators, leading to longer waits and more disruption when one is out of service. As Canada opens itself up for more small-scale infill growth – with smaller rental and condo buildings made viable by pending single-stair reforms and land use reforms – the high cost of elevators will become more of a barrier to the development of affordable, accessible homes.
>Behind Canada’s lack of elevators is our reliance on rules mostly written by and for the United States. Standards regulate the fine details of how something must be designed, built, maintained, and tested, but they also indirectly define the bounds of the market – who is able to enter and compete in it, and who is not. While nearly the entire world has harmonized on a single set of European-derived elevator standards, North America writes its own. You can sell the same elevator from Switzerland to New Zealand and almost everywhere in between, but not in Canada. This locks us into a tiny market because even the United States is only 5 per cent of the global elevator market – it has fewer elevators than Spain. While the provinces adopt these standards and use them as the basis for their regulations, in practice the standards themselves are written and updated mostly by the elevator industry itself.
>The so-called “Big Four” elevator manufacturers – Otis, Kone, Schindler, and TK Elevator – have jumped through regulatory hoops to be allowed to sell elevators (however big and outdated) in Canada and the U.S. But the fact that we use a different standard from the rest of the world means that small and mid-sized manufacturers around the world, which sell kits of nonproprietary parts that small firms can install and service, stay away. This means far fewer parts available and less competition between manufacturers. It leaves small firms that install and maintain devices, often Canadian-owned businesses unlike the big players, unable to buy the latest technology, harming their ability to compete.
>One mid-sized nonproprietary elevator manufacturer has a map on its website of the countries it’s active in, from Norway to Nigeria. But there is a conspicuous void in North America. This leaves Canadian developers and condo owners at the mercy of an uncompetitive market, dominated by large manufacturers that insert enough proprietary technology into their elevators that it’s difficult to switch maintenance firms if you’re not satisfied with their service.
hibikir_40k on
I mean, it’s right. A random Spanish 6 story building, with 12 large apartments in total, is normally served by 2 elevators that each might fit 4 european-sized adults. Enough for someone in a wheelchair. Your typical American elevator will fit at least 12.
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Archived version: https://archive.fo/AAUy6.
>Why do elevators in Canada cost three times more than in Western Europe? And what impact is that having on the development of new buildings at a time when Canada needs more homes?
>Canada is an increasingly urban nation, but the soaring cranes across its cities mask surprisingly few elevators – around four for every 1,000 Canadians, slightly ahead of the United States but behind every other high-income country with available data. Switzerland has half the population of Ontario and almost four times as many elevators. Greece has 10 times as many elevators per capita as Canada.
>Elevators in Canada are far more expensive than in Europe. A new elevator in a small, mid-rise apartment building in Canada costs the developer upwards of $200,000, compared to roughly a third of that cost in Europe. Canada’s expensive elevators are both and cause and an effect of our more suburban, low-rise settlement patterns – we rely less on apartment buildings so there is less of an outcry over high costs, but those high costs also continue to make family apartment living less affordable and attractive in Canada.
>The high cost of elevators in Canada also means some smaller buildings have none at all, limiting accessibility. Larger buildings have fewer elevators, leading to longer waits and more disruption when one is out of service. As Canada opens itself up for more small-scale infill growth – with smaller rental and condo buildings made viable by pending single-stair reforms and land use reforms – the high cost of elevators will become more of a barrier to the development of affordable, accessible homes.
>Behind Canada’s lack of elevators is our reliance on rules mostly written by and for the United States. Standards regulate the fine details of how something must be designed, built, maintained, and tested, but they also indirectly define the bounds of the market – who is able to enter and compete in it, and who is not. While nearly the entire world has harmonized on a single set of European-derived elevator standards, North America writes its own. You can sell the same elevator from Switzerland to New Zealand and almost everywhere in between, but not in Canada. This locks us into a tiny market because even the United States is only 5 per cent of the global elevator market – it has fewer elevators than Spain. While the provinces adopt these standards and use them as the basis for their regulations, in practice the standards themselves are written and updated mostly by the elevator industry itself.
>The so-called “Big Four” elevator manufacturers – Otis, Kone, Schindler, and TK Elevator – have jumped through regulatory hoops to be allowed to sell elevators (however big and outdated) in Canada and the U.S. But the fact that we use a different standard from the rest of the world means that small and mid-sized manufacturers around the world, which sell kits of nonproprietary parts that small firms can install and service, stay away. This means far fewer parts available and less competition between manufacturers. It leaves small firms that install and maintain devices, often Canadian-owned businesses unlike the big players, unable to buy the latest technology, harming their ability to compete.
>One mid-sized nonproprietary elevator manufacturer has a map on its website of the countries it’s active in, from Norway to Nigeria. But there is a conspicuous void in North America. This leaves Canadian developers and condo owners at the mercy of an uncompetitive market, dominated by large manufacturers that insert enough proprietary technology into their elevators that it’s difficult to switch maintenance firms if you’re not satisfied with their service.
I mean, it’s right. A random Spanish 6 story building, with 12 large apartments in total, is normally served by 2 elevators that each might fit 4 european-sized adults. Enough for someone in a wheelchair. Your typical American elevator will fit at least 12.