Engaging on financing measures to support the supply of housing for owners and renters
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Objective
The Government is seeking to understand whether, and to what extent its housing finance interventions to support new homebuilding should adjust to respond to the evolving market reality around homeownership and rental. Feedback is key to understanding the realities of the market and where federal housing finance interventions are the most useful.
The end goal of this engagement will be to seek advice and feedback on additional financing measures to support the continued supply of more owner-occupied and rental homes, including whether new or adjusted products may be appropriate. More broadly, the engagements may also provide insights into federal housing finance tools overall.
Market context
Canada's housing market is undergoing rapid change, particularly regarding the tenure of new homes being built. To respond to this shifting landscape, the 2026 Spring Economic Update announced the Government of Canada's intention to explore financing measures that could support the supply of owner-occupied homes. Potential measures could complement the existing suite of financing measures supporting purpose-built rental housing.
Housing supply, particularly owner-occupied housing, has not kept pace with demand. While total annual housing starts have been stable since 2021Footnote 1, the composition of starts is increasingly driven by rental construction. Since 2021, annual starts of owner-occupied units have been declining (28% below the 2020s peak). Average home prices increased by 82% between 2014 and 2024 (to approximately $704,000)Footnote 2, more than eight times the increase in the median wage over the same period (9.5%)Footnote 3. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's homeowner affordability index shows a steady decline in homeownership affordability since 2000, with affordability undergoing a significant deterioration after 2020. These trends highlight important shifts in the market and raise questions about the potential for the Government to assess its housing finance tools for better alignment with evolving needs.
Federal housing finance toolkit
Canada's housing system continues to face persistent challenges that can constrain housing supply, including construction financing constraints, slow income growth, geographic constraints, pre-sale requirements, project viability pressures, and regional market conditions.
All three orders of government have a range of tools that have an important role to play, including land-use planning, tax policy and immigration. This paper focuses specifically on the role of the federal housing finance system.
Canada's housing finance system relies on a range of public and private mechanisms, including conventional and insured lending, direct lending programs, mortgage insurance, and tax-based measures. Understanding how these tools are used, and the extent to which they address existing barriers, will help inform potential future actions to support housing supply.
Federal lending programs such as the Apartment Construction Loan Program as well as Multi-Unit Mortgage Loan Insurance products play a key role in advancing the supply of purpose-built rental. They target key gaps in the availability and terms of private financing available to purpose-built rental construction projects.
In considering potential support to accelerate the supply of owner-occupied housing, it is important for the Government of Canada to understand the potential financing gaps that may exist in the current suite of federal housing finance tools, and whether intervention can address them. Specific barriers, such as meeting pre-sale requirements or obtaining construction financing, can hold back otherwise financially viable projects and may arise in specific circumstances or specific markets with longer development times and higher building costs. Understanding this landscape will help inform whether federal action is warranted and the role that the government could play.
It is equally important to understand the current federal role for financing purpose-built rental, and how important existing tools are to supporting new purpose-built rental supply projects. Understanding the impact of current interventions will help the government ensure that the combined interventions that support both owner-occupied and purpose-built rental supply are coherent, effective and fit-for-purpose.
Finally, the path forward to support the supply of owner-occupied and rental housing must be advanced in the context of the government's broader housing objectives and the launch of Build Canada Homes.
How to participate
This engagement seeks input through an open online portal. A series of questions are structured to solicit specific input. Additionally, open-ended responses are welcome to provide any other relevant information and analysis.
Respondents will have until September 25, 2026 to offer input.
To contact the engagement team, please email engagehousing-engagelogement@infc.gc.ca.
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