(52) Single-Stair in Canada: What’s Actually Changed and What Still Has to Happen - Conrad Speckert & Jack Keays

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In this episode, Payam interviews building code consultants Conrad and Jack about the push to allow single-stair residential buildings in Canada, especially in Ontario and Toronto. Conrad defines single-stair missing-middle apartments as small 3–6 storey buildings with short corridors and fewer units per floor, contrasting them with typical North American double-stair, long-corridor layouts, and explains how this affects design efficiency and project viability. 

Jack says Canada’s long-standing two-exit requirement (codified in 1941) persists despite major improvements in sprinklers, alarms, materials, and firefighting, and argues that single-stair can be made as safe through compensating measures and risk assessment. 

They review past attempts (1984 CMHC report, 1990s Ontario recommendations, 2010 sprinkler requirements), BC’s 2024 code change, Vancouver guidance, and Toronto’s slow alternative-solution approvals, noting a Delaware Avenue project took about a year. They highlight Edmonton’s advanced, metrics-based review process and advocate for codifying a clear Part 9 pathway similar to the U.S. model codes.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
01:13 What Single Stair Means
03:48 Design Benefits and Efficiency
05:01 Why Codes Still Block It
08:47 How Reform Started Moving
11:51 Toronto Approvals and Lessons
16:38 Global and US Comparisons
19:29 Developer Path and Tradeoffs
21:31 Edmonton and Peer Review Model
29:02 What Needs to Change Next
31:37 Final Thoughts and Resources

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