Canada's Housing Plan: Programs and initiatives
Building More Homes
Canada needs to build more homes, faster. From concept to construction, we need to increase the pace of homebuilding to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs at prices they can afford.
How will we do it? We'll bring down construction costs, get cities to allow more homes to be built, transform how we build homes, and grow the workforce to get the job done.
Supporting Indigenous housing
Building the infrastructure to support more homes
Growing and training the workforce
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Making the math work for homebuilders
Financing Measures
Building on existing financing measures to unlock cheaper financing for lenders, the Government of Canada will bring more homes to the market, faster and at better prices. This includes:
- Introducing an Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for apartments that will increase builders' after-tax return on investment
- Removing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for new rental projects, including for student residences
- Making low-cost financing available through an increase in the limit for Canada Mortgage Bonds
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Housing Data
Modernizing Housing Data
The Government of Canada will modernize and enhance the collection and dissemination of housing data to ensure an even better data-driven response to the housing crisis.
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Increasing the supply of housing
Apartment Construction Loan Program
The Apartment Construction Loan Program (ACLP) boosts the construction of rental housing by providing low-cost repayable loans to builders and developers. Canada's Housing Plan is making the program even better by:
- adding an additional $15 billion in new loan funding, starting in 2025-26, bringing the program's total to over $55 billion
- making it easier to use so developers can get more projects done faster
- providing $100 million in low-cost loans specifically to build housing above existing shops and businesses
- providing $500 million low-cost financing for prefabricated or innovative homebuilding techniques
Canada Builds
The federal government is taking a team Canada approach to building affordable homes for the middle class by combining federal low-cost loans with provincial and territorial investments to scale up construction on rental homes.
Housing Accelerator Fund
Restrictive zoning practices, excessive red tape and outdated processes slows the constructions of housing and increases costs. The Housing Accelerator Fund incentivizes local governments to remove these barriers, speeding up permitting and supporting the development of affordable, inclusive, equitable and climate-resilient communities.
Public Lands for Homes Plan
High costs and a shortage of land makes homebuilding more expensive and prevents homes from being built. The Public Lands for Homes Plan is unlocking government surplus, underused and vacant lands across the country. We're partnering with homebuilders and housing providers to build homes on every possible site.
Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program (In development)
The new Secondary Suite Loan Program will provide low-interest loans to enable homeowners to add a secondary suite to their homes.
Mortgage Insurance to Incentivize Densification (In development)
To support recent municipal zoning reforms in Canada's major cities, the government intends to make targeted changes to mortgage insurance rules to encourage densification. We're enabling homeowners to add density to their current homes or properties by, among other things, increasing the applicable insured mortgage limit.
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Supporting Indigenous housing
Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure
An additional investment of $918 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada will help accelerate work in narrowing First Nations, Inuit and Métis housing and infrastructure gaps.
Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy
The Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy is establishing a ‘for Indigenous, by Indigenous' National Housing Centre and will provide additional distinctions-based investments for culturally appropriate Indigenous housing to be delivered by Indigenous governments, organizations, housing and service providers.
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Building the infrastructure to support more homes
Canada Public Transit Fund (HICC)
Public transit and active transportation infrastructure helps Canadians get to where they need to go and stay connected to family and friends. The Canada Public Transit Fund will provide stable and predictable funding to communities of all sizes, enabling them to respond to local needs by enhancing integrated planning, improving access to public transit and active transportation, and by supporting the development of more affordable, sustainable, and inclusive communities. As part of Canada's Housing Plan, any community that wants federal transit funding will be required to take action to unlock housing supply where it's needed most.
Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund
Building more homes requires core public infrastructure that is reliable, resilient and environmentally sound. The new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund supports investments towards drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure to facilitate the construction of homes and ensure the continued delivery of essential services to Canadians.
Canada Infrastructure Bank
Infrastructure for Housing Initiative helps finance the infrastructure needed to build more homes, such as water treatment, transit, green energy, and broadband. This innovative financing tool for municipalities and Indigenous communities offers a blend of private and public funding to advance projects.
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Changing the way homes are built
Research to support the construction sector
The National Research Council is conducting research to support scalability of factory-built housing as well as research to inform potential changes to the National Model Codes for consideration of single-egress construction. They will also work with partners to digitize the construction codes to make it easier to incorporate into digital construction tools.
Regional Homebuilding Innovation Initiative (In development)
Canada's Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are promoting innovation in residential construction through strategic investments that enhance efficiency and output in the homebuilding sector. This initiative will advance new technologies and improve manufacturing processes and regional capacities. The result is a change in the way homes are built - and a faster, more efficient response to Canada's housing needs.
Industrial Strategy for Homebuilding
The Industrial Strategy for Homebuilding will explore how the supply chain, new building techniques and building materials can be leveraged so all order of government and industry can build homes smarter, faster and at prices Canadians can afford.
Housing Design Catalogue (In development)
To increase Canada's housing supply, how homes are built in communities across the country needs to change. The new Housing Design Catalogue will provide standardized housing designs, which will reduce the time required for design, approvals, and construction while supporting new and innovative construction methods.
Homebuilding Technology and Innovation Fund (In development)
The new Homebuilding Technology and Innovation Fund, led by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), one of Canada's Global Innovation Clusters, will help scale up, commercialize, and promote adoption of innovative housing technologies and materials in Canada's homebuilding industry, including for modular and prefabricated homes.
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Growing and training the workforce
Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy
Building more homes requires the right people with the right skills to get the job done. The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy provides support to grow and develop a trades workforce that is skilled, inclusive, certified and productive to help address the housing needs in Canada.
Foreign Credential Recognition Program
The Foreign Credential Recognition Program will streamline foreign credential recognition with a focus on residential construction to helped skilled workers get more homes built. The program helps skilled newcomers receive work placements and wage subsidies; it also offers low-cost loans and support services to help meet the costs and requirements associated with practicing their trade in Canada.
Making it Easier to Rent or Own a Home
The Government of Canada is making it easier to rent or own a home by ensuring that every renter or homeowner has a home that suits their needs, and the stability to retain it.
Protecting renters
Getting into your first home
Supporting current homeowners
Protecting Canada's existing housing stock
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Protecting renters
Blueprint for a Renters' Bill of Rights
In addition to the commitment to move forward with a Home Buyers' Bill of Rights, announced in Budget 2022, the Government of Canada is also advancing a Renters' Bill of Rights. To be implemented together with provinces and territories, these Blueprints will provide direction for fair and well-functioning renting and home buying systems, promoting practices such as access to home inspections and price transparency as well as addressing unfair evictions.
Tenant Protection Fund (In development)
Tenant Protection Fund will provide funding to legal services and tenants' rights advocacy organizations to better protect tenants against unfairly rising rent payments, renovictions, or bad landlords.
Rental Payment History
Renters should be able to use their rental payment history to demonstrate their credit worthiness when applying for a mortgage. That's why we're calling on fintech companies, credit bureaus, and lenders to give renters the option to include rental payment history in their credit scores helping renters qualify for a mortgage and better rates.
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Getting into your first home
Home Buyer's Plan
The Home Buyer's Plan (HBP) allows you to withdraw from your registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a specified disabled person. As part of Canada's Housing Plan, Canadian's can now withdraw up to $60,000 to purchase their first home without having to pay tax on the withdrawal and take up to an additional three years to repay their RRSP withdrawals.
30 year Mortgage Amortization for first-time homebuyers (new construction)
The Government of Canada is helping First-time home buyers enter the housing market. As of August 1, 2024 mortgage rules now allow lenders to offer up to 30-year mortgages for first-time homebuyers purchasing newly constructed homes.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's new Home Start product is applicable to all housing types, including manufactured homes, so long as the home is a new construction.
Tax-Free First Home Savings Account
Canadians can save for a down payment on their first home with the new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account. This registered savings account allows Canadians to contribute up to $8,000 per year, and up to a lifetime limit of $40,000, towards their first down payment.
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Supporting current homeowners
Blueprint for a Home Buyers' Bill of Rights
In addition to the commitment to move forward with a Home Buyers' Bill of Rights, announced in Budget 2022, the Government of Canada is also advancing a Renters' Bill of Rights. To be implemented together with provinces and territories, these Blueprints will provide direction for fair and well-functioning renting and home buying systems, promoting practices such as access to home inspections and price transparency as well as addressing unfair evictions.
Canada Green Buildings Strategy
Addressing the twin challenges of climate change and energy affordability, the Canada Green Building Strategy focuses on lowering home energy bills and reducing building emissions by supporting energy retrofits.
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Protecting Canada's existing housing stock
Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians
Effective as of January 1, 2023, the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act prevents non-Canadians from purchasing residential property. The ban was extended in June 2024 for an additional two years, to January 2027.
Short-Term Rental Enforcement Fund (In development)
Short-term rentals take away homes from Canadian homebuyers and renters. The Short-Term Rental Enforcement Fund will support municipalities with the most restrictive existing short-term rental regulations to enforce these rules. New legislation will also remove tax deductions for expenses incurred for short-term rentals operating if these are not permitted under provincial or municipal regulations.
Combatting Fraud
The Government of Canada is working to combat mortgage fraud risks by working with the mortgage industry on making a tool available through the Canada Revenue Agency to verify borrower income for mortgages. CRA was also provided additional funding to continue cracking down on real estate tax fraud.
Confronting the financialization of housing
The Government of Canada will ensure homes are for people and not for big investment portfolios by working to restrict the purchase and acquisition of existing single family homes by very large, corporate investors.
Helping Canadians Who Can't Afford a Home
We're helping Canadians afford a home by building more affordable housing for students, seniors, persons with disabilities and equity deserving communities, which will contribute to eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada.
Increasing the supply of affordable housing
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Increasing the supply of affordable housing
Co-operative Housing Development Program
Co-ops offer housing at rates that are generally more affordable than other private rental housing. The Co-operative Housing Development Program supports sustainability in the co-op housing sector in the form of forgivable and low-interest repayable loans.
Affordable Housing Fund
The Affordable Housing Fund supports the development of new, and the renovation and repair of existing affordable and community housing projects by way of low-interest and/or forgivable loans and contributions. Canada's Housing Plan, is making the Affordable Housing Fund easier to use and creating a new Rapid Housing Stream to build deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, and shelters for our most vulnerable.
Canada Rental Protection Fund (In development)
The Canada Rental Protection Fund will protect affordable housing by mobilizing investments and financing from the charitable sector, private sector, and other orders of government to support affordable housing providers to acquire housing units and preserve rents at a stable level for decades to come.
Federal Community Housing Initiative
The Government of Canada is ensuring existing affordable housing can be maintained by funding federally administered community housing projects.
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Helping to end homelessness
Reaching Home
Reaching Home supports people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in accessing safe, stable and affordable housing. Through Canada's Housing Plan the government is focusing on accelerating reductions in homelessness, supporting communities as they adopt best practices and lessons learned from other jurisdictions to reduce the time it takes to move individuals and families into more stable housing.
Addressing Encampments and Unsheltered Homelessness
The urgent issue of encampments and unsheltered homelessness will be addressed by cost matching funding with provinces and territories. The funding will support human rights-based community action plans that commit to a housing-first approach to ending encampments and include supportive and transitional housing, housing-focused services, and rent supplements specifically dedicated to individuals living in encampments or experiencing homelessness.
Veterans Homelessness Program
The Veterans Homelessness Program is helping veterans experiencing homelessness by funding local organizations to provide rent supplements, wraparound supports for Veterans, and building capacity to serve Veterans experiencing homelessness.
Interim Housing Assistance Program
The interim Housing Assistance Program provides financial support to provinces and municipal governments to address interim housing pressures resulting from increased volumes of asylum claimants entering Canada.
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