Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed on Sunday the establishment of Build Canada Homes, a novel federal agency tasked with supervising federal housing initiatives. This agency is a key component of the Liberals’ commitment to doubling housing construction efforts. Emphasized as a centralized entity, Build Canada Homes will oversee new affordable housing projects at the federal level.
Carney expressed that the agency’s primary objective is to accelerate housing development nationwide. It aims to facilitate the construction of supportive and transitional housing in cooperation with provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities. Additionally, the agency will promote the expansion of affordable and community housing while collaborating with private developers to construct residences for the middle class. Notably, former Toronto city councilor Ana Bailão has been appointed as the CEO of Build Canada Homes.
The agency will possess the authority to approve construction on public lands and offer early-stage funding for housing development ventures. Carney disclosed that a budget of $13 billion has been allocated for the agency. This funding will support the construction of 4,000 modular homes across six initial sites in Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Longueuil, Que., and Dartmouth, N.S., with a potential to scale up to 45,000 homes. Construction of these initial homes is scheduled to commence next year.
Opposing Carney’s housing strategy, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the creation of additional bureaucracy. He suggested alternative housing policies, proposing incentives for municipalities to expedite the permitting process and reduce development fees by linking infrastructure funding to homebuilding.
Furthermore, Poilievre recommended eliminating the capital gains tax on reinvested funds in homebuilding and scrapping the federal sales tax on home purchases under $1.3 million. Recent data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) highlighted a surge in housing starts during the first half of the year, particularly evident in cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, and Halifax.
However, concerns were raised regarding the slowdown of construction in Toronto and Vancouver. Notably, Toronto is facing a significant decline in new condominium construction, projecting a prolonged period of insufficient housing starts. The CMHC report underscored the necessity for a substantial increase in annual housing starts to meet future demand, estimating a requirement of 480,000 homes per year by 2035.