Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed on Sunday the establishment of Build Canada Homes, a new federal agency tasked with supervising federal housing initiatives. The agency is a key component of the Liberals’ commitment to doubling housing construction efforts.
Build Canada Homes is being promoted by the government as a centralized entity overseeing new affordable housing programs at the federal level. Carney emphasized that the agency’s role will be to accelerate housing construction nationwide by facilitating the development of supportive and transitional housing in collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities. Additionally, it aims to enhance deeply affordable and community housing while partnering with private developers to construct homes for the middle class.
Former Toronto city councillor Ana Bailão has been appointed as the CEO of Build Canada Homes, as revealed by the prime minister. The agency will have the authority to approve construction on public lands and provide initial funding for housing projects in their early stages.
Carney announced a budget of $13 billion for the agency, earmarked to support the construction of 4,000 modular homes across six initial sites in Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Longueuil, Que., and Dartmouth, N.S. Construction of these homes is slated to commence next year, with potential scalability to 45,000 units.
Criticism of Carney’s housing approach has come from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who views the establishment of the agency as adding unnecessary bureaucracy. Poilievre suggested alternative policies, such as incentivizing municipalities to streamline permitting processes and reduce development fees by linking infrastructure funding to homebuilding.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently reported that overall housing starts in the first half of the year were near record highs. However, concerns were raised about decreased construction activity in expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver.
Toronto experienced a significant decline in new condominium construction, with a 60% drop in the first half of 2025. The CMHC predicts that for the next couple of years, housing starts in Toronto will remain insufficient to address affordability challenges. Conversely, cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, and Halifax saw robust construction activity, particularly in rental apartments.
Looking ahead, the CMHC projects that Canada’s housing starts will need to nearly double by 2035 to meet growing demand, reaching 480,000 homes annually.