Building the Future: What to watch as Build Canada Homes takes shape

The federal government is launching Build Canada Homes (BCH) this fall with an ambitious goal: to double the current pace of construction in Canada to almost 500,000 new homes per year.

Here are six things that will be key to BCH’s success as it aims to tackle the country’s housing crisis:

1. Defining the problem

The extent to which quick progress can be made by BCH will depend on two critical ingredients: agreement on the problem and precision on what “affordability” means.

In August, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) released a ‘Market Sounding guide’ to engage sector stakeholders. And while it offers some identifiable signals, it stops short of defining the specific housing problem that BCH aims to solve. This ambiguity leaves things open to interpretation and may result in misaligned expectations from the different audiences being asked to provide feedback.

Furthermore, housing affordability is based on various factors including income and location. It remains to be seen if BCH will prioritize building and financing non-market “affordable” housing or if its remit will be much broader. Honing in on precise intended outcomes will be critically important–focusing on addressing affordability for those whose needs are not met by the market requires a different set of approaches than aiming to address affordability for Canadians overall.

2. Working together at pace

BCH’s impact will rely on convening housing stakeholders to work together in genuine partnership. All levels of government—federal, provincial and municipal—must row together to ensure funding and regulatory levers align. This will require a clear articulation of BCH’s contribution to getting more housing built in relation to other efforts across government, including within a wider housing plan at the federal level.

Partnership must also extend beyond government. Bringing together core players across the private, public and non-for-profit sectors to create a clear roadmap, and in short order, is no small endeavour. Equally important is meaningful collaboration with Indigenous partners, as rights-holders, to address the unique and considerable housing challenges faced by Indigenous people both on- and off-reserve. In theory, BCH could be a solid platform for joint action, but outcomes will ultimately be determined by the effectiveness of partnerships in practice. 

3. Avoiding duplication and maximizing effectiveness

Canada’s housing policy framework is already complex, with multiple agencies, ministries and levels of government playing important roles. As it stands at the federal level, a department (HICC) and two Crown Corporations (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Canada Lands Company) are deeply embedded in the design and delivery of housing policy and programs. To be effective, the federal government must be clear on how BCH will complement, not compete with, established organizations with deep institutional expertise, in addition to effectively coordinating housing policy across other jurisdictions and relevant policy areas, including immigration, infrastructure and the environment.

4. Balancing speed and realism

Creating a federal body requires new legislation, governance structures, staff, and systems for accountability and oversight, before the first BCH-supported units will even begin to be developed. Moving too quickly risks creating a structure that is duplicative, under-resourced and poorly integrated within the current context. At the same time, costs associated with establishing a new institution will be significant, raising the question of whether those resources would be better channelled through existing mechanisms. While pressing action on housing affordability is needed, government will engender greater trust by being transparent about what can feasibly be accomplished and by when.

5. Aligning innovation with building fast and at scale

At the core of BCH’s objectives lies a fundamental tension: how to build quickly and at scale while also advancing innovative techniques and improving productivity. Delivering large volumes of new housing quickly will mean understanding which levers to pull and prioritize with existing, more traditional approaches for more units to get built. It will also be essential to indicate what progress should look like with proven, but less utilized technologies, such as modular and prefabricated construction, while layering in experimentation with other less-established methods, materials or financial tools.

Capacity, capability and demand will also factor in as key considerations across regions. What will improvements on the innovation front look like in Whitehorse in relation to Winnipeg? Overall, the test for BCH will be whether it can scale what already works while experimenting in parallel, ensuring that progress is both rapid and attuned to regional differences.

6. Effect of tariffs and the economy on the ability to build

Tariff-related increases in the cost of imported materials pressure budgets and risk delaying projects, while unpredictable supply chains make it difficult for industry to commit to new builds. Prioritizing domestic materials and regional production hubs, as the Market Sounding guide emphasizes, is noteworthy but could impact costs and timelines. Government and industry will need to navigate these pressures strategically to deliver affordable and high-quality housing without interruption.

BCH poses opportunities for stronger coordination, increased innovation and, ultimately, improved affordability for Canadians. Success, however, hinges on its ability to bring partners together to rapidly execute and deliver on its ambitious objectives, against the backdrop of an uncertain economic environment. Lack of agreement or clarity on the ways to collaboratively move forward will reduce trust and hamper results, potentially creating even greater challenges.