Helping More Canadians Buy a Home
Backgrounder
The government is investing to build homes at a record-breaking pace, helping Canadians find an affordable place to call home, and making the boldest mortgage reforms in decades to lower costs. The government is also working with provinces and territories to protect renters.
Key measures in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement to help more Canadians buy a home include:
- Progress on building more homes. Budget 2024 and Canada’s Housing Plan unveiled an all-hands-on-deck approach to build more homes and keep them affordable. Since then, the government has made a concerted effort to rapidly deliver on its commitments.
- Building and repairing homes across the country through the $55 billion Apartment Construction Loan Program and the $15 billion Affordable Housing Fund.
- Providing at least $100 million in low-cost financing to help build homes on top of existing businesses and retailers.
- Fully utilizing the additional $20 billion issuance of Canada Mortgage Bonds to build 30,000 more rental apartments.
- Unlocking more federal lands through the Canada Public Land Bank to build 250,000 homes on public lands, with 83 underused federal lands already identified.
- Providing $50 million for Canada’s Regional Development Agencies to scale-up innovative modular construction technologies.
- A new $1 billion Rapid Housing stream to build deeply affordable, transitional, and supportive housing, and shelters for our most vulnerable.
- Investing $30 billion through the Canada Public Transit Fund—the largest transit investment in Canadian history—to build more public transit, lower commute times, and help communities across the country grow.
- Cutting municipal red tape to build 750,000 homes with the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund. The federal government has committed nearly $4 billion to build over 100,000 new homes within the next two years. 178 agreements have been signed, and new agreements are expected to be finalized in winter 2025. Municipalities will be placed under review if they are found to be contravening their agreements.
- Cutting red tape to build apartments. The government has amended the Apartment Construction Loan Program to make it easier, cheaper, and faster for builders to build.
- Building homes faster by accelerating $2 billion in low-cost financing to ensure builders can access this critical financing now, not in the years ahead.
- Delivering the $6 Billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund provincial and territorial stream. The 2024 Fall Economic Statement announces that through the Fund’s $5 billion provincial and territorial stream, the federal government will fund Winnipeg’s North End Sewage Treatment Plant and Metro Vancouver’s Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. More projects will be announced.
- Moving forward with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for Housing Initiative which is providing low-cost financing to build infrastructure in support of new housing supply in communities across Canada. Funding has already been announced for water projects to enable the construction of approximately 15,000 new housing units in Brandon and southeastern Manitoba, and to support assessment work for the proposed redevelopment of more than 10,000 housing units in Montreal.
- Building up to four homes at a time by working with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to explore options for using mortgage loan insurance to support the construction of more two-to-four-unit homes and gently increase density.
- Supporting women and their children fleeing violence by accelerating funds available to build more women’s shelter spaces.
- Supporting non-profit and co-op residents by extending the Federal Community Housing Initiative, which will provide tens of thousands of households with certainty they will continue to receive the rental assistance they count on.
- Lower downpayments and lower mortgage payments. The boldest mortgage reforms in decades, effective December 15, 2024, are making mortgages more affordable by increasing the price cap for insured mortgages and expanding eligibility for 30-year mortgage amortizations.
- Removing the stress test at mortgage renewal for uninsured mortgage holders who switch from a federally regulated lender to a lender that purchases portfolio insurance for the mortgage. This follows the decision, by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, to remove the stress test requirement for uninsured mortgage holders who switch from one federally regulated lender to another.
- Adding more secondary suites to single-family homes, by doubling the loan limit for the Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program, from $40,000 to $80,000. The program, first announced in Budget 2024, will provide low-interest loans to help cover renovation costs.
- Restricting large corporate investors from buying single-family homes because homes are for Canadians to live in, not a speculative asset class for investors. The government has launched consultations on restricting large corporate investors from buying existing single-family homes in Canada. Further details will be announced in Budget 2025.
Page details
- Date modified: