Canada’s housing crisis is not a single problem; it is a failure across an interconnected system. Piecemeal interventions targeting one part of the system while neglecting others have produced a decade of worsening outcomes: record-high rents, a surge in homelessness, and a dramatic erosion of affordability for low- to median-income Canadians. A clear, coordinated, and comprehensive plan that addresses all parts of the housing system is necessary to reverse these losses.
Our recommendations for Budget 2026:
- Establish the fiscal framework for the renewal of the National Housing Strategy.
- Close the urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing gap.
- Recapitalize Build Canada Homes with a 10-year investment time horizon.
- Work with provinces and territories to fund operating expenses and wrap-around supports for supportive housing.
- Enable the Community Housing Transformation Centre to serve as a long-term national intermediary for community housing capacity.