Ottawa Unveils Build Canada Homes with $13B to Tackle Housing Crisis

On September 14, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the launch of a new federal agency called Build Canada Homes, backed by an initial C$13 billion investment to address Canada’s escalating housing affordability crisis. The mandate is two-fold: to build deeply affordable and community housing for low-income households, and to partner with private developers to produce homes that middle-class Canadians can afford. The agency is being established as a Special Operating Agency within the Department of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities, with former Toronto city councillor Ana Bailão appointed as its inaugural CEO.

Among its first commitments, Build Canada Homes will prioritize six federally-owned sites where approximately 4,000 factory-built homes will be constructed in cities including Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Dartmouth, and Longueuil. Additional measures include launching a $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund to help community housing groups acquire at-risk buildings, allocating $1 billion to build transitional and supportive housing for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and partnering with Nunavut Housing Corporation to deliver over 700 affordable and supportive housing units, with a significant portion built off-site.

Carney emphasized that Build Canada Homes is designed to reduce barriers in the housing sector by lowering upfront costs, leveraging public lands, and introducing modern construction methods like modular builds and mass timber. He framed the initiative as central to improving affordability, reducing homelessness, and speeding up housing construction across the country. While the first round of projects will focus on federal lands and cooperation with provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous partners, critics and stakeholders will be watching whether the agency can scale its efforts sufficiently and deliver results in a timely way.