The federal government’s Build Canada Homes is being billed as a centrepiece in efforts to tackle the country’s housing crisis, aiming to build 500,000 new homes annually. But BCH’s success will depend on clarity, coordination and the ability to deliver at speed and scale, an RBC report warns

“The extent to which quick progress can be made by BCH will depend on two critical ingredients: agreement on the problem and precision on what ‘affordability’ means,” Stephanie Shewchuk, director of housing policy at RBC Thought Leadership, says in the report.

In August, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) released a Market Sounding Guide to engage sector stakeholders. Shewchuk says while the guide offered “some identifiable signals,” it “stops short of defining the specific housing problem that BCH aims to solve.” That ambiguity, she cautions, “may result in misaligned expectations from the different audiences being asked to provide feedback.”

Whither the remit?

Affordability remains a central but contested issue, she says. “Housing affordability is based on various factors including income and location,” and “it remains to be seen if BCH will prioritize building and financing non-market ‘affordable’ housing or if its remit will be much broader.”

Beyond definitions, success will require unprecedented cooperation. “All levels of government — federal, provincial and municipal — must row together to ensure funding and regulatory levers align.” Shewchuk also points to the need for “meaningful collaboration with Indigenous partners, as rights-holders, to address the unique and considerable housing challenges faced by Indigenous people both on- and off-reserve.”

Ultimately, the report says, BCH represents both opportunity and improved affordability for Canadians, but moving too quickly risks creating a structure that is duplicative, under-resourced and poorly integrated within the current context. “While pressing action on housing affordability is needed, government will engender greater trust by being transparent about what can feasibly be accomplished and by when.”