The problem is essentially down to two things: one is global, and the pursuit of investment safe havens (red bricks are the new gold bricks). This was made worse by the global financial crisis. The second is Agenda 21: a global plan to create dense urban areas with pack- em-and-stack-em apartment towers, ostensibly to protect the environment. 

Both of these forces lead to the building of towers of condos because they are the easiest to throw up and require little in the way of urban planning and building of communities. 

Canada has plenty of space and could use this investment money to build beautiful communities with design-savvy homes connected with non-polluting public transport. The capability exists and so does the design plans. All that is missing is the will.