Together with our Housing Central Partners, BCNPHA and AHMA, we carefully reviewed this week’s Federal budget announcement. Below, we have shared our joint statement on select budget provisions related to housing.
In addition to these shared observations, we were heartened to see several specific references to co-op housing in the launch of Build Canada Homes, the new government agency responsible for transforming the delivery of affordable housing across Canada. While there are grounds for optimism, the budget doesn’t deliver a response to one of our key priorities. The Federal Community Housing Initiative, which currently provides rent-geared-to-income assistance to thousands of low-income co-op households, is slated to sunset in 2028. The budget doesn’t commit to extending this vital assistance, and we will continue to work closely with our partners at the Co-op Housing Federation of Canada to address this looming threat to housing security for our members.
Federal Budget 2025: Housing Central Partners Tracking Federal Commitment to Affordable Housing
The Federal Budget 2025 tabled on November 4th provided further clarity on the launch of the new federal housing agency, Build Canada Homes, and other infrastructure investments. The Housing Central partners support the goals of Build Canada Homes to supercharge homebuilding across Canada and transform the way we deliver housing with speed and at the scale needed to address the housing crisis. While Build Canada Homes was introduced with a $13B investment promise in September, Budget 2025 outlines a more modest allocation of new funding. We are concerned that Build Canada Homes, with investment levels as outlined in yesterday’s budget, hasn’t been designed to meet its full potential.
How this budget supports housing need
We believe the government’s housing goals are sound, and Build Canada Homes has the potential to catalyse the Canadian housing industry and deliver new homes that are affordable for all Canadians, if it is adequately resourced.
There is a lot to like in the plan’s goals, including:
- Commitment to build a new generation of co-op housing
- Launch of the Canada Rental Protection Fund
- Deployment of public lands for community housing development
- Innovation in modern methods of construction
- Investment in transitional and supportive housing
- Increased access to less expensive financing for housing construction
While we welcome these initiatives, we know that tackling the housing crisis will require decisive action.
What the budget and Build Canada Homes missed
Of the $13B promised in the Build Canada Homes announcement in September, it appears that only $7B will be invested in the launch of Build Canada Homes according to the details in yesterday’s budget documents, and that is spread over five years. The peak investment year (2026-27) announced in yesterday’s budget is a federal investment (Table A2.2) of $1.9B for all of Canada.
To put the budget’s investment into context, this is just twice the amount that the Province of BC alone allocates to capital spending for housing in a year. Furthermore, existing National Housing Strategy investments were roughly $2B annually, but this level of investment will taper off after 2027. This means, based on the details in the November 4 budget, the investments allocated to Build Canada Homes do not exceed existing investment levels. In the months leading up to the budget, Build Canada Homes promised a generational housing investment. Upon seeing the specifics outlined on November 4, we know there are further resources needed to truly catalyse affordable housing in a way that addresses the scale and urgency of the need.
Although the budget reconfirms a previous and long-delayed commitment of $2.8B to Urban, Rural and Northern (URN) Indigenous housing, there is no clarity on how this funding will be delivered. Direct involvement and support for Indigenous-led housing organizations will be critical to the success of the plan. We are disappointed that the Indigenous-led organizations responsible for serving Indigenous people living in urban areas (more than 80% of the Indigenous population) are not included at the table. A distinctions-based approach limits funding to First Nations, Métis, or Inuit governments, which discriminates against the majority of URN Indigenous people who have been colonially displaced or dispossessed. It also ignores the tireless work and expertise of urban Indigenous housing and service providers who can deliver solutions at the speed, scope, and scale this housing crisis demands.
What BC’s community housing sector needs
With the Build Canada Homes financial framework due to come out in the next few weeks, the Housing Central partners will be looking to see that meaningful investment will be allocated to the community housing sector. BC’s community housing providers have the expertise, the land, and the capacity to deliver with speed and at scale. It is the community housing sector that has the proven track record of building and operating housing that is truly affordable in the long term.
In BC alone, over the next ten years,12,500 new affordable homes will be needed each year to ensure equitable access to safe, stable housing in communities across the province. Now, more than ever, all levels of government must take responsibility and act proactively with the urgency required. Support from both the federal and provincial governments is essential to achieve true affordability in housing and end the rise in precarity faced by youth, elders, families, and many others.
The community housing sector in British Columbia stands ready to tackle the affordable housing crisis that touches every corner of our province. As mission-driven organizations with deep roots in their communities, BC’s community housing organizations are best positioned to deliver and maintain long-term affordability, equity, and stability for those most in need. BC’s community housing sector looks forward to the opportunity to work with the federal government on our shared goals.