Background

I was born in Toronto, but our family moved to Perth shortly thereafter, where I grew up until I was 13. We then moved to Ottawa which in part was to bring me closer to my training in sport. While I have called Ottawa home since then, my roots in Perth remain strong, and I frequently visit the town to see my mom and work on projects. I have been in the construction and real estate industry for 16 years, and during this time, I have been involved in a variety of projects, which have allowed me to gain a wide range of first-hand experience. My knowledge and experience in construction and development stem from firsthand learning. I do not have any formal education in construction or development; however, this first-hand experience has been the foundation on which I have built my knowledge and expertise in development. Throughout my years, I have been fortunate to be involved in a range of projects and processes involving development and construction. As a result, I possess knowledge across various areas of development, including feasibility, municipal legislation and law, planning, construction management and costing, design development, and owning and managing rental units. I continue to take on personal projects because I believe in learning from firsthand experiences, and I try to explore, adjust, and innovate how I approach my own projects each time. I am always eager to learn, grow, and take on new challenges, both personally and with my clients.

In 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19, I began adjusting how 2B Developments focused on project development by implementing minimum requirements for projects we built, which included accessible and affordable housing. To further my knowledge and advocacy, I served on the Affordable Housing Committee, which the Town of Smiths Falls established in early 2021, as vice-chair. On the committee, I was able to engage with multiple stakeholders regarding the rural housing crisis and implement real change at the municipal level through various recommendations to Council. I continue to keep involved with local organizations within Lanark County, as well as other Eastern Ontario municipalities, and advocate for multiple municipal changes that will help create and preserve affordable housing units.

In addition to building developments, I have contributed my time and experience to several consultations regarding zoning and the community improvement plan in the Town of Smiths Falls, and provided input and advice to other rural municipalities. I have taken part in larger county-wide open forum discussions, providing insight and recommendations that can help make the development process more efficient to benefit the end users ( the tenants) from a developer perspective. This has involved meeting with consultants hired by the Town, as well as county-wide stakeholders and representatives, speaking up in open forums, challenging the status quo, and advocating for redirecting development fees towards affordability initiatives. I have also been a keynote speaker on municipal tools to accelerate the success of small-scale developments, moderated discussions on private and public partnerships for housing development. I am actively involved in advocacy for affordable housing, focusing on both policy and funding. My work with Cahdco has also allowed me to speak on larger platforms and join other advocates and organizations in discussing the issues faced in the development of affordable housing. I am currently focusing my time and energy on advocating for changes in the province of Ontario and have started working on similar initiatives in Atlantic Canada. I have successfully helped organizations obtain funding through CMHC programs, such as Seed and Co-Investment (now Affordable Housing Fund), and am actively working on applications to these programs and the innovation stream. Similarly, I have been involved in the successful submission of applications to FCM. I am currently working on a pilot program application that will explore using treated water from a communal waste system to create reserve ponds that can be relied upon by farmers during droughts or to extinguish fires.

I have helped create, and continue to do so, hundreds of affordable, accessible, and transitional housing units throughout Ontario. Thousands more still need to be made, and I am committed to doing what I can to contribute to their creation.

2B Developments

2B is dedicated to helping nonprofit, municipal, institutional, and private sector clients build new adequate housing across Canada. We help clients progress efficiently and effectively through all phases of the development process, supporting their projects from start to finish. We support clients who are building residential, mixed-use, municipal, and commercial projects across Ontario and Canada. Our primary services include development consulting and project management at each phase of a project. We also provide preliminary feasibility and strategic analysis, feasibility and development concept studies, affordable housing workshops and education, and piloting of new and innovative construction methods and framework approaches for creating new affordable housing.

2B deeply understands the unique differences between developing in both urban and rural municipalities, and has a proven track record in delivering in both. A majority of our work is focused on rural and small communities, and we have offices across Canada, supporting clients in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick. Our proven track record of delivering projects has earned the trust of our clients, who have relied on our services and shared their positive experiences through word-of-mouth referrals, which form the foundation of our business.

Lindsay has utilized 2B’s platform to be a voice in advocating for necessary policy change at the local municipal, provincial, and federal levels to break down the barriers that deter, stall, and impact the creation of new affordable and accessible housing.

Rural Impact Canada

In 2024, I created Rural Impact Canada, RIC. Rural Impact Canada creates programs and provides consulting services to rural and small municipalities, focusing on addressing challenges and barriers that affect housing. We help our clients create the ‘municipal environment’ that enables the development of new dense and diverse housing in rural and small communities that desperately need it. Our Municipal Services Corporation Program (MSC Program) provides municipalities with a clear guide and process to create a municipal services corporation which can be used to address a range of municipal needs. Our MSC Program and our process for working with clients were part of CMHC’s Housing Supply Challenge Round 5, and RIC was a finalist.

CAHDCO / CCOC

In 2023, after some consideration, I decided to add to my plate a new challenge and became the Director of Real Estate Development for CAHDCO/ CCOC, and kept a light workload with 2B Developments. I wanted to deepen my knowledge in affordable housing development, and the opportunity to work with Ottawa’s largest tenant-landlord-led non-profit housing provider was one I could not pass up. While I soaked in the knowledge and experience of those at Cahdco and CCOC, I also brought my many years of firsthand experience in building and developing real estate to the team. In this role, I helped provide education and professional development for the team of project managers and project coordinators, creating a foundation of knowledge that would enable their team to better support clients and projects. During this time, I also earned a non-official title, “Coach Blair”, and my teaching sessions were called the “Coach Blair “ series.

While at Cahdco, I worked with several non-profit organizations and helped bring their projects to life. My role involved working with organizations through feasibility and set them up for success throughout the development, design, and construction phases. Under my other non-official title, “Dream Crusher”, I would meet with organizations, understand all their objectives, and bring reasonable and realistic approaches that were financially viable, matched their experience and capacity, and ultimately would set them up for success.

While I was only at Cahdco for a year, it felt like I had been there for several. Leaving Cahdco to prioritize my time and focus on 2B Developments and new initiatives was not an easy decision, but ultimately one I had to make. I am extremely grateful for each day I worked with the entire team.