A new federal agency focused on building more affordable housing across the country.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced an initial $13 billion for Build Canada Homes.
“It will help fight homelessness by building transitional and supportive housing in close partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities,” Carney said during Sunday’s announcement.
“It will expand deeply affordable and community housing to low-income households. Build Canada Homes will partner with private-sector developers to build affordable homes for the Canadian middle class.”
The agency will deploy modern methods of construction as it catalyzes the creation of an entirely new Canadian housing industry, said Carney.
According to the federal officials, the initiative will also leverage public lands, offer flexible financial incentives and facilitate large portfolio projects.
Carney also announced the first four investments and initiatives under Build Canada Homes:
- Prioritize six sites to build 4,000 factory-built homes on federal land, focused on affordable mixed-income communities. The first sites will be in Dartmouth, Longueuil, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton.
- Launch a $1.5-billion Canada Rental Protection Fund to help the community housing sector acquire at-risk rental apartment buildings.
- Deploy $1 billion to build transitional and supportive housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
- Partner with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to build over 700 public, affordable and supportive housing units.
Carney said the goal of Build Canada Homes is to help double the pace of housing construction over the next decade.
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