"Build baby build" / reforming zoning and the massive influence disparity of current homeowners is the only way to fix housing in major cities.
For various reasons Seattle builds almost entirely purpose built rental apartments and nearly no condos. In Vancouver it's the reverse.
Seattle now has a 5% vacancy rate whereas Vancouver has sub 1%, despite the fact that Vancouver has multi unit construction at all time highs (33k at the moment).
It's a deeply complex problem and there's more to it than just building more. Clearly what Vancouver is building is not the right product to increase vacancy.
Additionally, developers should be forced to provide rental units when building condos. An indication that something is wrong in Vancouver? The richest people in the city are developers, who have been reaping enormous profits by converting precious density into cash. The city needs to make that density far less precious by greatly increasing its supply - and quickly.
Finally, speculation must be targeted provincially with a steep increase in property taxes across the board. Property owners who declare income and pay income tax in the province can have their property tax reduced dollar for dollar down to the original property tax rate. But investors - foreign and local - will have to pay more, making speculation far less profitable.
It's not like the government is doing nothing. They've already tried other avenues, now it's time to try targeting short-term rentals.