Budget 2025 marks a turning point in how the federal government approaches housing. Under the new Build Canada Homes (BCH) banner, Ottawa now places housing on par with infrastructure, defence, and productivity as one of its “generational investments.” This shift represents a clear recognition: housing is no longer seen merely as a consumer good or a social benefit in the case of public and nonprofit housing, but as a strategic national asset essential to the country’s prosperity and resilience.
This new vision breaks with decades of market-driven housing policy. It puts housing back at the centre of Canada’s economic and social development, emphasizing large-scale production, technological innovation, and a more integrated approach between public, private, and community actors.
Yet, this industrial and centralized model also raises significant challenges for the community housing sector. Challenges that the Community Housing Transformation Centre is well positioned to help address.
A renewed federal leadership
At the heart of the strategy lies the creation of BCH, a new agency whose main priority will be to expand the supply of non-market housing to restore affordability and reduce homelessness. Over the next five years, the agency will invest $13 billion in the construction of affordable, community, and transitional housing.
This renewed recognition of social and community housing is welcome news alongside measures such as the launch of the $1.5-billion Rental Protection Fund now housed within BCH, $1 billion for transitional and supportive housing, and the planned creation of 700 new public, affordable, and supportive units in Nunavut in the coming months.
Uncertainties for the community housing sector
While these major investments underline the federal government’s intent to play a leading role in solving the housing crisis, the recentralization they imply is not without risks for community housing.
By consolidating under one federal entity responsibilities once held by CMHC and a variety of partnership programs, there will continue to be questions about the impact of these decisions on providers not yet ready to scale.
BCH is tasked with accelerating production through industrial prefabrication. While this emphasis on productivity and efficiency is central to scaling up construction, it may at times come into tension with the community sector’s values of local governance, social inclusion, and long-term stewardship. Moreover, no dedicated funding has yet been announced to strengthen the organizational capacity, operational stability, or social innovation of community providers.
The budget also makes reference to the $2.8-billion investment previously promised in urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing, alongside a commitment to co-develop a national Indigenous housing strategy with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners. It also references billions in additional funding available for housing needs in Indigenous communities. The Canada Infrastructure Bank will also significantly enhance its Indigenous investment target.
This reality is even more pressing in Indigenous communities. The $2.8 billion commitment, remains far below actual needs. Barriers to access this funding risk to weaken smaller community organizations, particularly those in rural, northern, and on-reserve areas. In this context, strengthening organizational capacity becomes a strategic priority.
The Centre’s continuing role
In this evolving federal landscape, the Centre remains a key player in ensuring alignment between national ambitions and local realities. Drawing on its experience in organizational development, the Centre has both the expertise and the tools to help the sector strengthen its governance, consolidate its internal capacity, and prepare to take part fully in BCH.
This mission lies at the heart of the Centre’s strategic plan: accelerating sector transformation, building collective capacity, and fostering collaboration between public, private, and community stakeholders. Through initiatives such as the Sector Transformation Fund, the Growth and Capital Funds, the Community Housing Academy, and the Resource Inventory, the Centre supports organizational capacity building, improves management practices, and facilitates knowledge sharing across the country.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples must remain a central priority in Canada’s housing landscape. While recent investments, including the work advanced through Indigenous-led organizations like NICHI demonstrate meaningful progress, much of the previously announced funding has yet to reach the scale or pace communities urgently require. Advancing housing solutions designed by and for Indigenous communities is essential, and the Centre stands ready to work alongside Indigenous leaders, supporting approaches rooted in community priorities, cultural values, and self-determination.
This catalytic role helps to embed community housing as a pillar in Canada’s long-term investment and resilience strategies. In a context where government seeks to “spend less to invest more,” the Centre will continue to serve as a trusted partner of both governments and community housing providers, ensuring that industrial-scale housing development also translates into a durable strengthening of local capacity.
It is precisely at the intersection of federal vision and community action that the Centre can deploy its full potential, helping make community housing a cornerstone of Canada’s collective prosperity.
Finding balance
Ultimately, Budget 2025 positions housing as a national priority. It explicitly recognizes the value of community housing while inviting the sector to transform to participate fully in this new era of industrialized development. The challenge ahead will be to reconcile speed and scale with the human and democratic depth that defines the community housing model.
The Centre intends to play an active role in this transition by preparing organizations, fostering capacity growth, working toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and ensuring that housing continues to serve as a lasting driver of social justice, economic inclusion, and collective resilience.
