Build Canada Homes: Canada’s Bold New Strategy to Solve the Housing Crisis

Written By Stephanie Redvers

Canada has officially launched Build Canada Homes (BCH) — a federal agency designed to supercharge the supply of affordable, sustainable, and supportive housing. Announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on September 14, 2025, the initiative is ambitious, wide-ranging, and aimed at addressing persistent affordability and homelessness challenges.

Here’s what BCH is, what it aims to do, and why it matters.

What Is Build Canada Homes?

  • BCH is a new federal special operating agency under Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC).

  • Over time, it will transition into being a standalone entity reporting directly to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.

  • Ana Bailão, former Toronto Deputy Mayor and housing advocate, has been appointed as its first Chief Executive Officer.

What Are Its Goals?

Key goals include:

  1. Increase supply at scale and speed
    Build Canada Homes is tasked with accelerating construction of non-market housing (affordable, supportive, transitional) for people with lower incomes, as well as housing for the Canadian middle class.

  2. Innovative building methods and sustainable design
    The agency will emphasize modern methods like factory-built and modular housing, mass timber construction, low-carbon materials, efficient design, and leveraging public lands to lower costs and timelines.

  3. Using Canadian resources and boosting domestic supply chains
    BCH aims to ensure that building materials — wood, steel, aluminium, mass timber — and technologies are Canadian. There’s also a “Buy Canadian” priority in the mandate.

  4. Address homelessness and support vulnerable populations
    Specifically, BCH will build supportive and transitional housing, as well as deeply affordable housing via non-profits, co-ops, Indigenous housing providers, with wrap-around supports.

  5. Leverage public assets and finance
    Public lands (in particular, some held by the Canada Lands Company) will be transferred to support housing development. BCH also has an initial capitalization to provide financing, lower upfront risk for developers, and attract private capital.

What Has Been Announced So Far

Some early commitments and projects under BCH include:

  • A $13 billion initial capitalization so that BCH can begin to finance large and complex housing projects.

  • Six public-land sites in cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, etc.) to deliver roughly 4,000 factory-built homes as pilot projects.

  • A $1.5B Rental Protection Fund to help the community housing sector acquire at-risk rental properties and maintain affordability.

  • A $1B investment to build transitional and supportive housing for people facing homelessness or housing instability.

  • Partnership with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to build over 700 supportive/affordable units, about 30% of which are expected to be factory-built off-site.

Challenges & What to Watch For

Experts and stakeholders have flagged some areas that will be crucial for its success:

  • Defining “affordable” clearly and realistically, especially for lower-income households. Often “affordable” is loosely defined in policy, and if rents or prices are still too high relative to incomes, many people will be left out.

  • Coordination with provinces, territories, municipalities, and Indigenous governments. Housing is largely a shared jurisdiction, and success will depend on aligning policies, funding, building codes, zoning, approvals, etc.

  • Preventing bottlenecks in construction, approvals, and supply chains, including availability of skilled labour, materials, and infrastructure.

  • Ensuring that “innovative” methods don’t become expensive or burdensome, that factory-built housing maintains quality and community fit.

  • Sustaining funding over time: initial announcements are strong, but long-term budgets, operating supports (especially for supportive housing), and management capacity will be key.

Bottom Line

Build Canada Homes represents one of the most significant efforts in recent Canadian history to tackle housing affordability head-on. It’s ambitious, well-resourced, and built around ideas that many experts have been calling for. But its impact will depend heavily on execution.


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Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and is based on publicly available government announcements and resources at the time of writing. While we strive to ensure accuracy, details of the Build Canada Homes initiative may evolve as policies, programs, and funding are further defined. This post does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. For the most up-to-date information, please consult official Government of Canada sources.

Stephanie Redvers
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