Housing and Homelessness Programs and Initiatives

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9. Federal Homelessness Programming
10. National Housing Strategy
11. Support for First-time Home Buyers

Federal Homelessness Programming

Issue / question

What is the Government of Canada doing to address homelessness?

Suggested response

• This government is taking a leadership role in preventing and reducing homelessness. Through Reaching Home, the government is investing $5 billion to support coordinated, evidence-based community responses.
• To respond to increasing unsheltered homelessness and encampments, the $250 million Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative is supporting the deployment of community plans.
• Build Canada Homes will deploy $1 billion to build transitional and supportive housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Background

• Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy: Launched in 2019 as part of the National Housing Strategy, this program is now a $5 billion investment over nine years, through 2027-28 (including an investment of $1 billion through Budget 2024). Reaching Home provides funding to specific communities through the Designated Communities, Indigenous Homelessness, Rural and Remote Homelessness and Territorial Homelessness streams.
• As of October 2025, Reaching Home has supported over 9,900 projects since April 2019. Between April 2019 and March 2025:
• Over 199,000 people received prevention services such as short-term rental assistance or landlord mediation;
• Over 110,000 people have been assisted in attaining more stable housing;
• Nearly 48,000 people began receiving income assistance; and
• Over 18,000 people started new paid employment.
• The Indigenous Homelessness funding stream allocates funding directly to off reserve organizations that provide culturally appropriate services to Indigenous people experiencing homelessness. The Distinctions-based Approaches stream provides dedicated funding to address specific needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals.
• Veteran Homelessness Program: The Services and Supports Stream provides up to $72.9 million in funding for rent supplements and wrap-around services and the Capacity Building Stream provides up to $6.2 million in funding for research on Veteran homelessness and capacity building. 34 projects are in place.
• Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative: Budget 2024 announced $250 million over two years through 2025-26 to address the urgent issue of unsheltered homelessness. Cost-matched funding agreements have been signed with eight provinces, the three territories, as well as with municipalities in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
• Build Canada Homes: This new federal agency will build affordable homes, support builders with financing, and encourage innovative building methods – using Canadian technology, workers and lumber, and sustainable building practices. It will focus primarily on non-market housing, supporting a mix of income needs as part of a national effort to double housing construction, restore affordability, and reduce homelessness. As announced on September 14, 2025, Build Canada Homes will deploy $1 billion to build transitional and supportive housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

National Housing Strategy

Issue / question

What are the key accomplishments of the National Housing Strategy?

Suggested response

• Since 2017, the Government of Canada has provided more than $115 billion in funding through the National Housing Strategy so more people living in Canada have access to safe, affordable and inclusive housing.
• National Housing Strategy programs, like the Apartment Construction Loan Program, the Affordable Housing Fund, and the Co-op Housing Development Program, have committed over $69 billion to support the creation of over 170,000 new units and the repair of over 322,000 units.
• To date, more than $4.4 billion in federal funding has been committed through bilateral agreements that is delivered by the provinces and territories. As of September 30, 2024, this has supported the repair of over 146,000 units of social housing and the maintenance of over 314,000 units of social housing.

Background

• Launched in 2017, the National Housing Strategy (NHS) is currently a 10-year, $115+ billion plan to give more people in Canada a place to call home.
• The NHS sets ambitious targets, including to reduce chronic homelessness in Canada by 50%, and take as many as 580,000 households out of housing need. The NHS is also targeting the creation of up to 240,000 new housing units and 300,000 repaired or renewed housing units.
• The NHS includes a range of complementary programs and initiatives that address diverse needs across the entire housing continuum such as:
  • The Apartment Construction Loan Program provides $55 billion in loans to boost the construction of purpose-built rental.
  • The Affordable Housing Fund provides almost $16 billion in loans and contributions for new and repaired affordable and community housing. This includes a $1.5 billion top-up in loans for the Community Housing Sub-Stream supporting the creation of more than 5,000 new units.
  • Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy provides $5 billion in funding to urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.
  • The Co-op Housing Development Program provides $1.5 billion in loans and contributions to support the development of new rental co-op housing.
  • The Housing Accelerator Fund provides $4.4 billion in direct funding to municipalities that take action reduce the restrictive bureaucracy that will help boost housing supply.
• Through the NHS, the federal government also has bilateral agreements with all provinces and territories totaling approximately $15.7 billion in cost-matched funding from 2018/19 to 2027/28. This includes:
  • the $8.6 billion Canada Community Housing Initiative
  • the $4.8 billion Canada Housing Benefit
  • the $2.2 billion Provinces and Territories Priorities Housing Initiative
  • $300 million (federal funding, not cost-matched) in Northern Funding.
• The NHS respects the Government of Canada’s commitment to working on a nation-to-nation, Inuit-to-Crown, government-to-government basis with Indigenous peoples, which is why Indigenous Services Canada, with support from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, engaged with First Nations, Métis Nation, and Inuit partners to develop distinctions-based housing strategies.
• The NHS is anchored in the National Housing Strategy Act, which requires the Minister of Housing to develop and maintain a national housing strategy.

Support for First-time Home Buyers

Issue / question

What actions has the Government of Canada taken to support first-time home buyers?

Suggested response

• This government is taking action to support first-time home buyers looking to achieve their dream of homeownership.
• To reduce the upfront cost of buying a new home for first-time home buyers, the government is eliminating the GST on new homes up to $1 million and reducing the GST on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million.
• To help first-time home buyers save more for a down payment, the government created the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account and the Home Buyer’s Plan.
• To help offset some of the closing costs associated with purchasing a home, the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit provides up to $1,450 in tax savings to first-time home buyers.
• And to help lower down payments and monthly mortgage payments, the government has also made changes to mortgage insurance rules, including permitting 30-year amortizations for first-time home buyers and increasing the home price limit for insured mortgages to $1.5 million.

Background

• The Government of Canada has advanced various initiatives to support first-time home buyers in their efforts to save for and purchase a home.
• First-Time Home Buyers GST Rebate
  • Bill C-4 proposes eliminating the GST for homes up to $1 million and reducing the GST on homes between $1 million and $1.5 million, for first-time home buyers.
  • This measure aims to save Canadians up to $50,000 on a new home, allowing more young people and families to enter the housing market.
• First Home Savings Account
  • The tax-free, First Home Savings Account helps Canadians save up to $8,000 per year for a down payment on their first home, with a lifetime contribution limit of $40,000. Contributions are tax-deductible (similar to an RRSP) and withdrawals for the purchase of a qualifying home (including both contributions and investment growth) are also tax-free (similar to a Tax-Free savings Account).
• Home Buyer’s Tax Credit
  • The Home Buyer’s Tax Credit provides a non-refundable tax credit of $10,000 for first-time home buyers (which translates into a tax savings of up to $1,450 for 2025) to help offset some of the closing costs associated with purchasing a home, such as legal fees and land transfer taxes.
• Home Buyers’ Plan
  • In April 2024, the Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal limit was increased from $35,000 to $60,000. The Plan allows first-time home buyers to withdraw funds from their RRSP to buy or build a qualifying home.
  • The grace period to repay Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawals to RRSPs was also extended by three years for individuals who withdrew between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2025.
• Mortgage Loan Insurance Changes
  • In December 2024, changes to mortgage insurance rules came into effect:
    • Increased the price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million, to help more Canadians qualify for a mortgage with a downpayment below 20%;
    • Expanded the availability of 30-year mortgage amortizations to all first-time home buyers and to all buyers of new builds, providing more affordable monthly mortgage payment options.

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