Question Period Note: HOUSING DESIGN CATALOGUE INITITIVE

• Mr. Speaker, our Government is changing the way we build homes and using all levers at its disposal to build more homes, faster. We are adopting new and innovative ways to build high-quality housing and boost Canada’s housing supply at an unprecedented rate.

• We will begin consultations in early January 2024 on a housing design catalogue initiative, building on the work already being done to address the challenges facing the housing sector.

• This new initiative will help accelerate the delivery of homes by offering standardized housing designs, starting with low-rise construction.

• By working together with various orders of government, private and non-profit sectors, partners, and experts, we can make housing more affordable and more attainable for all Canadians.

• The Government of Canada is working to support innovation in the construction sector through programs such as the Housing Supply Challenge. This $300 million fund has supported projects across the country that are improving the productivity in Canada’s construction sector through the adoption of new designs, digital tools, and modular and prefabricated construction techniques.

• Working with municipalities, the Housing Accelerator Fund is a historic $4 billion investment that is breaking down barriers and build more homes, more quickly, to help people – from young families, to seniors, to newcomers – find a good, affordable place to call home. This includes more student housing, homes near public transit, and more rental units. It will help unlock over 100,000 new homes in cities from coast to coast to coast.

• The government has also invested over $759 million under the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to support new, innovative financing models and unique designs used to make housing more accessible, and lower the costs and risks associated with affordable housing projects. To date, funds committed under the program will create over 28,000 homes, with more than 18,000 of them being affordable housing units.

• From the 1950s to 1970s, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation created a series of housing design catalogues to help Canada accelerate the production of housing. These efforts were an essential component of the comprehensive federal effort to build capacity in the construction sector and address post-war housing shortages.

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