New federal agency will prioritize Indigenous housing, Ottawa says

A new agency to “supercharge homebuilding across the country” will partner with and prioritize Indigenous communities, the federal government says.

Build Canada Homes was launched on Sunday, ahead of the resumption of Parliament on Monday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Build Canada Homes would have an initial $13 billion to “build affordable housing at scale” across the country. The emphasis will be on factory-built modular homes – an approach Housing NWT is already using for new public housing in the territory.

The goal was defined by Carney’s office as “deeply affordable and community housing for low-income households” plus partnerships with private developers “to build affordable homes for the Canadian middle class.”

Deeply affordable means “it costs less than 30 percent of a household’s before-tax income, based on the median income of low or very-low-income households in a region,” Ottawa clarified.

On its website, Build Canada Homes said it would “prioritize multi-year projects that use innovative building methods and serve diverse populations, including students, seniors, and Indigenous communities.”

“Build Canada Homes will work with Indigenous partners to drive long-term affordable housing solutions that respect Indigenous leadership and knowledge and complement other federal and Indigenous-led housing investments,” that website also stated, “including on and off-reserve Indigenous housing programs and distinctions-based housing strategies.”

$1 billion is being earmarked for transitional and supportive housing.

While Carney’s pitch to the nation focused on large-scale housing projects, Build Canada Homes said smaller communities like those in the North “will be encouraged to team up to create larger project portfolios.”

In that regard, the territorial government is expected to “play a key role in bringing together projects” from across the region for submission as one package.

“Build Canada Homes will have targeted engagements with provinces and territories, Indigenous governing organizations and high-capacity, non-market housing providers to identify early investment opportunities and shovel-ready projects,” the agency stated.

“In the coming weeks, Build Canada Homes will release its first investment framework that details the types of investments it will prioritize, and form the basis for project intakes and funding decisions.”

There was a specific commitment to build “over 700 public, affordable and supportive housing units” with the Nunavut Housing Corporation, though no matching pledge immediately set out for the NWT.

“Build Canada Homes will transform the way government works with the private sector to build,” Carney was quoted as saying.

“We will create an entirely new housing industry using Canadian technology, Canadian workers and Canadian resources – and give builders the tools they need to build more, build sustainably, and build at scale.”

Announcing the agency’s creation on the eve of Parliament’s return may in part have been a means of allowing Carney to point to work accomplished over the summer.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had already criticized the prime minister over the unveiling of a list of priority infrastructure projects last week, saying that represented little actual progress.

On Sunday, Poilievre again questioned whether Build Canada Homes demonstrated urgency.

“We all agree Canada has everything you need for affordable homes,” Poilievre said.

“What’s standing in the way is bureaucracy. Mark Carney’s solution is to add another bureaucracy that will only slow things down.

“It took him six months to set up a new office – an office that has not built a single new home.”