Build Canada Homes One Year On: What Has Changed, What Hasn't, and Who Maintains These Homes

Where Build Canada Homes Stands Now

Since our one-year review in September, the picture has moved in small steps rather than large ones.

• Legal footing. The Build Canada Homes Act received Royal Assent on June 18, 2026. The Act provides the legal framework for BCH as a Crown corporation, and CBC reported on October 5 that it became one in July. The June announcement had said it would be fully operational as a Crown corporation later this year.
• Pace of construction. CBC reported in early October that BCH has committed to supporting roughly 19,000 affordable units, with about 2,000 under construction. Bloomberg's report on October 21 put the number under construction at about 2,300. In August, the federal government had cited nearly 17,000 committed and more than 1,900 under construction.
• New announcements. On October 1, BCH announced $25 million toward roughly 80 supportive homes in Toronto, subject to due diligence, underwriting and final agreements. On October 16, CMHC announced $165 million through its Apartment Construction Loan Program for 370 rental homes in Toronto, a reminder that CMHC's financing programs are still working alongside BCH.
• Strategy in a softer market. Bloomberg reported on October 21 that BCH's CEO sees a slower market as a reason to keep building, with an emphasis on purpose-built rental rather than investment condos.
• The wider backdrop. CMHC reported on October 20 that 143,929 homes had approved building permits but no construction started as of September, and that housing starts were down from last year. Vancouver's six-month starts trend rose 6%, driven by multi-unit projects.

The Common Criticisms, Tested Against the Record

Housing commentators, builders and analysts have raised several recurring points about BCH. Some are well supported, some are partly supported, and some are matters of policy judgment. Here is how each holds up.

"Isn't this just more bureaucracy?"

This is a legitimate question and the data does not settle it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) projected that BCH would add about 26,000 units over five years, roughly a 2.1% increase in housing completions, with about 13,000 of those for low-income households. The PBO also found that total federal planned spending on housing programs is set to fall 56%, from $9.8 billion in 2025–26 to $4.3 billion in 2028–29, as existing programs expire and Budget 2025 cuts take effect.

The federal government's response was that the PBO's projection does not capture investment from provinces and the private sector, and that expiring agreements may be renewed. Reasonable people can read the same figures differently. What the record does show is that BCH's contribution is modest relative to the national supply gap, and that measuring it will depend on completions, not announcements.

"Is this about helping Canadians buy homes?"

Not primarily. Budget 2025 says BCH will focus mainly on non-market housing: affordable rental, community, supportive and transitional homes. Ownership relief arrives through a different tool. Legislation that received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026 gives first-time buyers a rebate of the federal GST on new homes up to $1 million, phased out for homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. Readers who assume BCH is a first-time buyer program may be disappointed, and that confusion is worth clearing up.

"Doesn't CMHC already do rentals better?"

The two organizations do different jobs. CMHC's programs, such as the Apartment Construction Loan Program, mostly provide repayable financing to private-sector rental builders. BCH uses grants, contributions, public land and partnerships, mainly for non-market housing. In our September comparison of Toronto announcements, CMHC's financing supported more rental homes than BCH's, but the two figures are not like-for-like because the instruments differ. Whether the split was worth creating a separate Crown corporation remains a fair policy debate.

"Is modular housing real innovation, or just boxes?"

Modular is a construction method, not a design style, and the evidence is mixed in a useful way. In North Bay, Royal Homes reported manufacturing and installing 32 rental units (four eight-unit buildings, about 32,000 square feet) in roughly three months. The company has been building homes since 1971, so this is an established manufacturer scaling a proven approach. The release does not describe the project as part of BCH.

The federal government's own briefing note says Canada produces only about 2% of homes off-site, compared with far higher shares in Sweden and Japan. The Globe and Mail's editorial board has argued modular deserves support but that financing and insurance gaps must be fixed, while the Fraser Institute argues governments should not subsidize it. CMHC has since opened insured financing to prefabricated and modular homes.

Warranty is a question buyers rarely think to ask about. In BC, new homes built by licensed residential builders must carry 2-5-10 home warranty insurance: two years on labour and materials, five on the building envelope and ten on the structure. BC Housing exempts some categories from that requirement, including qualifying new rental buildings held under one title with a 10-year restrictive covenant on sales, and CSA-certified factory-built homes (CSA A277). Whether a particular project is exempt depends on how it is built and owned. A construction warranty, where one applies, covers defects in the original work for a limited time. It is separate from the owner or operator's ongoing responsibility for repairs, maintenance and reserves over the life of the building.

"Is the building code the real problem?"

Industry groups think so, at least in part. The Canadian Home Builders' Association has asked provinces to pause adopting the 2025 national model codes, citing cost and inconsistent adoption, and notes that Australia has paused code changes until 2029. BILD Alberta estimates the 2025 national code adds roughly $17,900 to $39,700 in construction costs for a representative 2,500-square-foot home. These are industry associations, so their estimates reflect their members' perspective.

The other side of the ledger is that the codes also carry accessibility, energy and climate-resilience requirements that have long-term value for residents. That makes the live question about pace, predictability and cost rather than whether to have modern standards at all.

Who Will Maintain These Homes?

The CMHC article you may have seen this week gives the debate a missing dimension. Counting new homes matters. So does keeping the homes we already have, and the ones we are about to build, in good repair.

CMHC's analysis of 2021 Census data found the following rates of homes needing major repair:

Subsidized housing therefore shows a higher rate of major repair needs than the rest of the stock, and CMHC links major repair needs to higher rates of mould, pests and unsafe water. At the same time, roughly nine in ten subsidized homes were not reported as needing major repair. The data support a concern about maintenance, not a conclusion that social housing is failing as a category.

Past social housing experience illustrates the risk. City of Toronto reports have described capital repair needs for its largest social housing landlord in the billions of dollars, and policy researchers have described how social housing providers faced deferred maintenance as federal operating agreements expired. A building where rent is geared to income often collects too little to fund long-term reserves unless the structure is designed to provide for them. These examples come from earlier programs and are not evidence of how BCH-funded housing will perform.

British Columbia already applies this principle to strata corporations. Since November 1, 2023, strata corporations must contribute at least 10% of their annual operating budget to a contingency reserve fund, and since July 1, 2024 strata corporations with five or more lots can no longer defer a depreciation report with an annual vote. Those reports project repair and replacement costs over 30 years. For what this means when you are buying, see our companion post, Renovated or Well Maintained? What BC Homebuyers Need to Know.

What This Means for British Columbia and the North Shore

For British Columbia, the near-term BCH story is supportive and transitional housing. In February 2026, the federal government and the Province agreed to a partnership through BC Housing: $170 million in federal investment alongside $640 million in provincial capital and operating funding, with at least 700 shovel-ready supportive and transitional homes to start construction within 12 months. A separate federal-provincial initiative announced in June aims to convert more than 2,200 vacant condo units into affordable homes. That program has drawn debate over its design and cost.

For buyers and owners in West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler, I see three practical takeaways:

• BCH is not a first-time buyer program. If ownership is your goal, the GST relief on new homes and your own financing plan matter more.
• New supply takes years to show up in your market. The projects that exist today are mostly in other regions or in early stages, so BCH is unlikely to change neighbourhood-level conditions in the short term.
• Condition and building reserves are part of value. Whether you are buying a strata unit or a detached home, how well a building has been maintained and funded matters alongside price and location. We explored this in our recent look at CMHC's repair data, Renovated or Well Maintained? What BC Homebuyers Need to Know.

What to Watch Next

• Completed homes, not just commitments, and how many of the roughly 2,000 under construction are finished and occupied.
• Construction starts on the six Direct Build federal sites, which are the real test of BCH's own development model.
• Published detail on lifecycle reserves and maintenance planning for BCH-funded buildings.
• CMHC's October housing starts data, due November 17, for a read on whether starts are stabilizing.
• Progress on the BC partnership's first 700 supportive and transitional homes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Build Canada Homes, what it builds and what it means for BC.

This article is for general information and education only and is not financial, legal, investment or policy advice. It reflects publicly available information as of October 22, 2026, and describes positions held by different parties without endorsing any of them. Figures from the 2021 Census are several years old and describe national and regional patterns, not individual buildings. Programs, projections and project timelines change, so confirm details with the original sources before making decisions.