We are bringing our popular "Fun Fact Friday series" from LinkedIn to our website! Read more below for fun facts and helpful links!

August 15, 2026 Fun Fact

Surplus Land, Lazy Land, a rose by any other name is still a brownfield!

There are 613 ‘Lazy Land‘ federal  parcels sitting underused in Canadian cities and towns according to a 2024 Globe and Mail study.  These sites, mostly empty parking lots and aging, low-use office buildings, have the potential to create about 288,000 housing units.  These underused properties are brownfields too, places waiting for revitalization. A deeper dive into provincial and municipal public land could reveal even more ‘lazy land’ ripe for uplift.  The launch of Canada’s Public Land Bank is a vital cog in this process, provinces, territories and municipal take note!  Read more on the analysis of gaps in database of public land ownership by University of Toronto’s School and Cities.

Canada's Urban Infrastructure Deficit: Toward democracy and equitable prosperity, published by the University of Toronto's School of Cities.

And here’s some of the available surplus land databases: