Ottawa – Everyone deserves a place to call home. However, for many across the country, home ownership and renting are out of reach due to the housing crisis Canada is facing. We need to build more homes, faster, to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs, at prices they can afford. That’s why in Budget 2024 and Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan, the federal government announced the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history: a plan to build 4 million more homes.
As part of this plan, the Government of Canada is identifying properties within its portfolio that have the potential for housing and is actively adding them to the Canada Public Land Bank. Wherever possible, the government will turn these properties into housing through a long-term lease, to support affordable housing and ensure public land stays public.
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, joined by the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced that 12 new properties have been added to the Canada Public Land Bank. These additional properties will create close to 3,900 units of housing for middle-class Canadians.
The 12 new properties included in the Canada Public Land Bank are:
1. Calgary, Alberta – Currie – Phase 14, Block 27A, at the corner of Calais Drive and Breskens Street Southwest
2. Calgary, Alberta – Currie – Phase 14, Block 31B, at the corner of Bessborough Drive and Breskens Street Southwest
3. Calgary, Alberta – Currie – Phase 12C, at the corner of Bessborough Drive and Quesnay Wood Drive
4. Edmundston, New Brunswick – 22 Emerson Street
5. Grand Falls, New Brunswick – 373-377 Broadway Boulevard
6. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – 15 Iroquois Drive
7. Bracebridge, Ontario – 98 Manitoba Street
8. London, Ontario – 451 Talbot Street
9. Ottawa, Ontario – 529 Richmond Road
10. Laval, Quebec – Montée Saint-François – Laval Penitentiary
11. Laval, Quebec – Vacant land next to 1575 Chomedey Boulevard
12. Whitehorse, Yukon – 419-421 Range Road
A total of 83 federal properties have now been identified as being suitable to support housing. With today’s additions, the Canada Public Land Bank now has properties in 9 provinces and 2 territories. This list will continue to grow in the coming months, with further details on listed properties available soon.
To solve Canada’s housing crisis, the federal government is using every tool at its disposal. The Government of Canada is accelerating its real property disposal process to meet the urgency of getting affordable homes built across Canada.
“Safe, accessible and affordable housing options are out of reach for far too many Canadians. Since the launch of the Canada Public Land Bank in August 2024, 83 properties have been identified for potential housing development, paving the way to build affordable housing across the country at a pace and scale not seen in generations.” – Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant
“We are delivering on the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history, to build 4 million homes and make the housing market fairer for first-time buyers and renters alike. Building more student housing will relieve rental demand for students and confronting the financialization of housing will ensure homes are for Canadians, not a speculative asset class for investors. We are taking action on all fronts to build more homes and make housing more affordable for Canadians.” – Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
“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.” – Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities