Prime Minister Mark Carney made an appearance at a breakfast event hosted by Ottawa’s mayor on Monday, where he shared updates on the federal housing plan’s implications for Ottawa. The Liberals introduced the Build Canada Homes agency in September, committing to a $13 billion fund to support the construction of affordable housing nationwide. One of the initial locations earmarked for development is a vacant federal government campus on Heron Road.
During the event at Ottawa’s Rogers Centre, Carney disclosed that the city and federal government will jointly invest $400 million to erect up to 3,000 new residential units in buildings designated as partially or fully affordable. The city will assist by reducing fees and property taxes for projects on federal lands, with a focus on prioritizing Canadian building materials.
In a report issued in August, the parliamentary budget officer emphasized the need for Canada to build 690,000 new housing units by 2035, in addition to ongoing construction efforts, to address housing demands nationwide. The Build Canada Homes initiative is projected to deliver 26,000 new units.
Apart from housing updates, Carney announced that the federal government is injecting $1.2 million into a new substance abuse pilot project in collaboration with the city and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. The project aims to coordinate a flexible response to crime and substance abuse while fostering skill development.
Furthermore, Canada aims to host the 2028 La Francophonie summit in Ottawa-Gatineau for the group’s roughly 90 member states and observers. The last time Canada hosted the summit was in 2008.
Additionally, the city and province are teaming up to construct 33 modular townhomes with three to four bedrooms each on Beechcliffe Street, near Woodroffe Avenue and Knoxdale Road. Ottawa is investing $3 million in the project and providing the land, while the Ontario government is contributing $3.4 million, and an extra $3 million will come from the province’s Building Faster Fund. Habitat for Humanity, a global charity, will play a role in this project.