Federal government lays the foundation to change how Canada builds homes
News release
Ottawa, Ontario, December 12, 2023 — The Government of Canada is adopting new and innovative ways to build high-quality housing, in line with our work to make infrastructure climate resilient, and boost Canada’s housing supply at an unprecedented rate.
Today, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, announced consultations that will begin in early January 2024 on a housing design catalogue initiative, building on the work already being done to address the challenges facing the housing sector.
This new initiative will help accelerate the delivery of homes by standardizing housing designs, starting with low-rise construction. It will explore a potential catalogue to support higher density construction, such as mid-rise buildings, and different forms of housing construction, such as modular and prefabricated homes. The government will also look at ways to support municipalities, provinces and territories looking to implement their own housing design catalogues.
Through these consultations, the government will engage with partners and stakeholders across the housing sector to seek their input and expertise.
The Government of Canada is changing the way we build homes and using all levers at its disposal to build more homes, faster. By working together with various orders of government, private and non-profit sectors, partners, and experts, we can make housing more affordable and more attainable for all Canadians.
Quotes
“In order to build more homes faster, we need to change how we build homes in Canada. We are going to take the idea of a housing catalogue which we used the last time Canada faced a housing crisis, and bring it into the 21st century. This is going to help accelerate future developments, and tap into new and innovative construction methods that will make a real difference in building communities across Canada.”
The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
Quick facts
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The Government of Canada is working to support innovation in the construction sector through programs such as the Housing Supply Challenge. This $300 million fund has supported projects across the country that are improving the productivity in Canada’s construction sector through the adoption of new designs, digital tools, and modular and prefabricated construction techniques.
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Working with municipalities, the Housing Accelerator Fund is a historic $4 billion investment that is breaking down barriers and build more homes, more quickly, to help people – from young families, to seniors, to newcomers – find a good, affordable place to call home. This includes more student housing, homes near public transit, and more rental units. It will help unlock over 100,000 new homes in cities from coast to coast to coast.
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The government has also invested over $759 million under the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to support new, innovative financing models and unique designs used to make housing more accessible, and lower the costs and risks associated with affordable housing projects. To date, funds committed under the program will create over 28,000 homes, with more than 18,000 of them being affordable housing units.
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From the 1950s to 1970s, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation created a series of housing design catalogues to help Canada accelerate the production of housing. These efforts were an essential component of the comprehensive federal effort to build capacity in the construction sector and address post-war housing shortages.
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Contacts
For more information (media only), please contact:
Micaal Ahmed
Communications Manager
Office of the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
343-598-3920
micaal.ahmed@infc.gc.ca
Media Relations
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll free: 1-877-250-7154
Email: media-medias@infc.gc.ca
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