2026 Federal pre-budget submission
Ahead of the 2026 federal budget, More and Better Housing Canada has only one message: now is not the time to give up.
The news of market softening is coming from all around the country: headline declines in asking rents and relatively deep discount on resales relative to the post-pandemic peak seem to point to an easier time for Canadians in both the rental and homeowner markets. These improved conditions owe a lot to federal leadership: generational housing investments through programs like the Housing Accelerator Fund and the Apartment Construction Loan Program have fundamentally altered the course of residential markets from coast to coast. Simply looking at recent historical trends will convince you that things are finally looking up.
But looking up does not mean victory. In matters of affordability, residential mobility, exposure to climate hazards and community resilience, much work remains to be done. With this in mind, More and Better Housing would like to outline the central risk for the next federal budget: letting up too soon. The work is not over; not in scale, not in effort, not in results. And without a firm commitment to finish the job, whatever progress has been made is at risk of being undone by unpredictable and capricious market conditions. This risk looms large: in December 2025, the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that federal housing spending is set to fall from $9.8 billion to $4.3 billion per year by 2028–29, a decline of 56%. The same review found Build Canada Homes, a $13-billion signature initiative, is expected to deliver roughly 26,000 homes over five years: meaningful, but a fraction of what is needed.
This is not even taking into account that even with the market softening, the inflationary pressures brought on by a decade of sustained price growth will need a long time to fully erase. The cost of living remains the foremost concern of families, and shelter-related costs still make up over 40% of many Canadian household budgets. The upcoming budget should therefore be built around a bracing, foundational intention: Go Big, meaning that the federal government should announce, draft and start to implement a National Housing Strategy that is even more ambitious and far-reaching than the previous one; and Go Home, meaning that the federal leadership should aim to help Canadian businesses and workers attain unprecedented levels of excellence, productivity and resilience.
Recommendation 1. Introduce a temporary 5-year capital-gains exemption (a zero inclusion rate) on the sale of residential land or buildings to Crown corporations, federal, provincial, territorial or municipal bodies, or accredited non-profit, co-operative or Indigenous-led housing providers, modelled on the recipient-based eligibility of the Ecological Gifts Program.
Recommendation 2. Move toward the adoption of international construction standards such as the Eurocodes, CE marking and relevant ISO standards for residential, commercial, institutional and industrial construction, so that global manufacturers and investors face familiar rules rather than costly idiosyncratic ones, and so that low-carbon products and methods proven abroad can reach Canadian sites faster.
Recommendation 3. Within the scope of the next National Housing Strategy, set up a new lending vehicle to offer unbeatable, long-term financing to sustainability-minded nonprofit and public builders and operators, set completion targets to make sure that rent growth remains below inflation minus shelter costs, and commit to sufficient and predictable operational subsidies to housing providers working with populations in core housing need.
Recommendation 4. Make density-linked funding conditions enforceable and specific by writing contractual, automatic penalties into all future funding agreements, and tie infrastructure, transit and housing funding to a defined list of planning and land use reforms, including development charges reduction or substitution.
Recommendation 5. Move faster and farther on building code reform by completing the required studies for alternative solutions concerning structural wood products in part 3 and part 9, updated elevator standards and single egress typologies, and starting the implementation in the shortest reasonable timeframe.
Recommendation 6. Complement the Build Canada Homes program by creating a refundable 30% Housing Technology Investment Tax Credit and a countercyclical procurement guarantee. Create a permanent council-like structure to make sure that new methods and improvements have a means to scale to all markets nationwide.
Recommendation 7. Consolidate flood, wildfire and other hazards into a single, annually updated Nationwide Hazard Map, and fund Wildfire Community Action Plans. Refer and defer to this map and other forward-looking resources when allocating funds to any housing or infrastructure project.
