Government of Canada lists federal lands for housing and new tool for builders

From: Health Canada

News release

Arbo Downsview site in Toronto ready for immediate development

August 29, 2024 | Toronto, Ontario | Health Canada

Canada is facing a housing crisis that is impacting lives and communities across the country. We need to build more homes, faster, to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs, at prices they can afford.

On August 25, 2024, the Government of Canada announced a new tool for builders called the Canada Public Land Bank, the first step under the new Public Lands for Homes Plan. The Canada Public Land Bank features 56 federal properties that have been identified as being able to support housing, including 5 new properties now intended for leasing and ready for builders to submit their plans. This new list will grow regularly in the coming months, along with further details on listed properties.

Today, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the Honourable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, highlighted the redevelopment of the Arbo Downsview site in Toronto, Ontario—one of the five federal properties now ready to be converted into housing. The property, located at 1350 Sheppard Ave W. North York, is planned for about 280 units of housing with minimum 30% dedicated affordable homes.

Under the Public Lands for Homes Plan, we will partner with the housing sector and communities to build homes on every site suitable for housing across the federal portfolio. Wherever possible, we will do it with a novel long-term lease, not a one-time sale, to ensure every site has affordable housing and public land stays public.

To provide feedback on the land bank and its properties, the Government of Canada also launched a call for housing solutions for communities: a secure online platform. Input provided will inform the development of these properties, including engaging the broader interest of Indigenous Peoples and organizations, community organizations, builders, and other partners and housing providers.

Canada Lands Company is an essential actor in the development of federal lands. As per Budget 2024, the government will evolve and adapt the mandate of Canada Lands Company to allow the organization to deliver housing solutions more quickly under the new Public Lands for Homes Plan.

Canada Lands Company, in partnership with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, has launched a call for proposals from housing providers to access some of the Canada Public Land Bank properties available in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Montréal on a long-term leasing basis at a discounted value. The detailed proposal information can be accessed through links directly in the property listings in the land bank.

Additionally, the Government of Canada is accelerating its real property disposal process to match the speed of builders and the urgency of getting affordable homes built for Canada. Public Services and Procurement Canada will adopt service standards to deliver these properties to interested partners for the purposes of housing. New measures will continue to be announced under the Public Lands for Homes Plan in the coming months.

Quotes

“Available, accessible and affordable housing options are scarce, and too many people do not have a safe place to call home. We need to do things differently and work in partnership to build more homes, faster. We are leading a Team Canada effort to unlock public lands for housing at a pace and scale not seen in generations, thus leveraging these properties to build strong communities and more affordable housing for the benefit of all Canadians.”

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Public Services and Procurement

“We need to build more homes in Canada, and one of the largest costs in building is land. By building on public lands, we can make it easier to build, and by leasing those same properties, we can make sure the homes built stay affordable for the long term.”

The Honourable Sean Fraser
Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

“With the new Canada Public Land Bank, we’re unlocking public land for housing across the country and we’re starting right here in Toronto. This is a key part of our plan to address the housing crisis and help ensure Canadians can buy and rent affordable homes. We’re tackling the housing crisis head on and working with partners nationwide to build more homes, faster.”

The Honourable Ya’ara Saks
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

Quick facts

  • In 2024, the Government of Canada launched Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan, which lays out an ambitious whole-of-government approach to addressing the housing crisis by building more homes, making it easier to rent or own a home, and helping Canadians who cannot afford a home.

  • A key component of Canada’s Housing Plan is the Public Lands for Homes Plan. This plan includes partnering with all levels of government, homebuilders and housing providers to build homes, faster, on surplus and underused public lands across the country.

  • The Public Lands for Homes Plan supports the government’s goal of unlocking 250,000 new homes by 2031.

  • Budget 2024 also provided $500 million, on a cash basis, to launch the new Public Lands Acquisition Fund, which will buy land from other orders of government to allow the federal government to acquire more land to be used for housing to help build middle-class homes. Work on the fund is already underway, and more details will be released in the coming weeks.

  • The 56 properties listed in the Canada Public Land Bank represent:

    • a total of 305 hectares of land
    • size of approximately 2,000 hockey rinks or almost 400 Canadian Football League football fields

Associated links

Contacts

Emily Kanter
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Ya'ara Saks
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
343-543-0345

Media Relations
Health Canada
613-957-2983
media@hc-sc.gc.ca

Public Inquiries
613-957-2991
1-866-225-0709

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