The federal government has launched Build Canada Homes (BCH), a new federal agency intended to build and finance affordable housing and generate demand for new building methods including factory-built, modular and mass timber housing.
The announcement expands on previously outlined plans for BCH detailed in the Liberal election platform, and included the following elements:
- The appointment of Ana Bailão, former Deputy Mayor of Toronto, as CEO
- Initial capitalization of BCH with $13 billion and deployment of $1 billion to build transitional and supportive housing, noting that BCH “will collaborate with key provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous partners to pair these federal investments with employment and health care supports.”
- The transfer of the Canada Lands Company to the Build Canada Homes portfolio including 88 federal properties suitable for housing
- Plans for bulk procurement for modern construction methods and for channeling demand through Canadian industries.
The plan also includes initial regional investments, all falling outside of British Columbia.
- Six sites will have a total of 4,000 factory-built homes on federal land in Dartmouth, Longueuil, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton
- Partnership with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to build 700+ public affordable supportive housing units.
In response, B.C.’s Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Christine Boyle, commented on the abundance of shovel ready projects in B.C. and emphasized her intention to work with the federal government on solutions for the province.
FCM has also responded to the announcement by highlighting a series of recommendations that, among other things, focus on speed, predictability and scale, infrastructure alignment, and regional benefits and reach.
Overall, the BCH initiative is strongly aligned with UBCM’s housing policy focus on delivery of affordable housing and investment in innovative modern methods of construction such as mass timber and modular housing.