The federal government has launched Build Canada Homes, a new national housing agency designed to build and finance affordable housing at scale and modernize Canada’s homebuilding industry.
The announcement came as part of a broader set of measures unveiled last week aimed at lowering housing costs, cutting red tape, and speeding up construction. Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson, Build Canada Homes CEO Ana Bailão, and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced the agency’s first development project and a major infrastructure investment in Toronto.
The government is investing $283 million to upgrade the aging Black Creek sewer system, a project expected to unlock up to 63,000 new homes, support 130,400 residents, and create over 65,000 jobs in the coming decades.
Build Canada Homes’ first project will be located at Arbo Downsview in Toronto, where 540 new homes will be constructed using modern building methods, with at least 40 per cent designated as affordable for middle-class families. The site will benefit from the nearby infrastructure upgrades.
Minister Robertson also released the full technical design packages for the national Housing Design Catalogue, which aims to simplify the approval process, lower costs, and encourage gentle density in existing neighbourhoods. Fourteen cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Halifax, Kitchener, and Yellowknife, have already committed to pre-reviewing the standardized designs to speed up approvals.
The federal government also announced more than $150 million in funding to upgrade community infrastructure in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, including bridges, water systems, and public transit, which will support housing growth and strengthen local economies.
In addition to the launch of Build Canada Homes, Ottawa confirmed commitments to support the construction and repair of more than 3,800 homes across the country, including affordable, Indigenous, supportive, seniors, and transitional housing projects.
With Build Canada Homes now responsible for scaling affordable housing efforts, the government has also added $1.5 billion in loans to the Affordable Housing Fund’s New Construction Stream and accelerated $385 million from future Rapid Housing funding.
The government says these combined measures are part of a national effort to “build faster, smarter, and more sustainably” to address Canada’s housing shortage.
