Canadians of all backgrounds are united by an unshakeable belief that marrying and reproducing confer a God-given right to a fully detached house plus yard. Developers profit from this belief and politicians are too timid to confront it.  Eventually, however, the realities of cost and distance assert themselves.  Expect more rear-guard actions like the John Fisher activists in future.

My only question is: why is there no alternative to one-floor or 30-floor?  Europeans live happily in three- or four-floor buildings.