Human Resources Committee on April 16th, 2026

[Alexi White]

Our focus with Build Canada Homes, as I've said, is the use of federal government-owned land. From the perspective of the use of federal land in the best possible way to build housing across the country, I think it makes sense to have a federal agency like BCH that can manage that from coast to coast.

It is important that BCH also work very closely with the provinces and territories, potentially to combine some of the land and work together with similar development of provincially owned lands or municipally owned lands. Any government land could be much better used through the model that would allow those governments to retain that land and to build housing on it. We're hopeful that there can be more partnerships with provinces and municipalities, but I don't see anything that would force the Government of Quebec to work with Build Canada Homes in that way if the government in Quebec wanted to do something else with its lands. I don't think there's anything here that would jeopardize its ability to do that.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

We talk a lot about co-operation, but how can we avoid creating a pan-Canadian approach that may not fully reflect Quebec's realities?

[Alexi White]

I think it's going to reflect the realities that the federal government sees across the country in terms of the housing challenge that exists. That is one level of government that needs to do more to address our housing crisis, but all levels of government need to do more to do that. I don't believe there's a fundamentally different challenge that would suggest there's a totally different solution needed for Quebec in this case.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Moffatt, what are your thoughts on funds transfers to Quebec?

[Mike Moffatt]

We have no opinion on the matter at the Missing Middle Initiative.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Larouche.

For the benefit of committee members, we have resources go to 11:35 because of the suspension. We will conclude the first round after this next list of questioners, which begins with Mr. Reynolds for five minutes.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for coming here today. We really appreciate your taking the time to speak to the committee.

Dr. Moffat, my first question is for you.

About 30 years ago, my wife and I were a young family. I've spent the last 30 years of my life as a middle-class, blue-collar worker. I was a construction electrician for the last 20 years. My last day in the field was two days before the election was called, so it's very fresh for me. My wife and I were a young family with one child, and we were able to buy a home 30 years ago. It was significantly different from it is today. I talk to young families now, and they're just a young family in the same situation that we were in, and that's not an opportunity for them anymore. I think that's very disheartening.

Your talk about the middle-class housing crisis really resonates with me because I understand it and I can really feel it.

What are the main reasons we have this middle-class housing crisis today that we didn't have then? How did we get here?

[Mike Moffatt]

Thank you for that question.

My parents bought their first home in 1970. My dad was an HVAC mechanic, and when they bought that home it cost about less than three times their income. When I bought our first home in 2004, it was the same story: It was about three times my wife's and my combined incomes, and we were in our late twenties at the time. Nowadays across Canada, depending on the community, we're close to six to 10 times.

There are a number of factors, two in particular, I would point to.

One is the massive rise in taxes, charges and fees. In the city of Toronto, for instance, development charges are up over 5,000% since the year 2000. If other prices in our economy had gone up that much, a cup of coffee would cost about $66, and a small, family-sized sedan would be about $1.3 million. That's a key point.

The next cost that has risen a lot is the cost of land. We've had a lot of restrictions on land use. Municipal governments have made it difficult to build up—particularly family-sized homes—but have also prevented building out. If you can't build up and you can't build out, that's going to make land very expensive.

Finally, we've had a lot of population growth over the last five to 10 years, which requires more use of land and more homes to be built. When we don't allow for that, it also raises the price.

There are many factors, but those are the three I would point out as having caused the price-to-income ratio of housing to rise so significantly in the last 20 years.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you.

What area of the housing sector has the biggest need and why?

[Mike Moffatt]

I would say it's family-sized homes, particularly entry-level, family-sized homes, your three- and four-bedroom homes. One thing that municipalities have allowed for is a lot of one-bedroom apartments. It's not that we don't necessarily have too many of those, but it's one area that we've done rather well in. However, those types of townhomes or semi-detached homes, you name it, where you can raise a child or two, have them play in the backyard—that kind of thing, the kind of thing our generation and my parents' generation took for granted—is where, on average across Canada, we see the largest shortages.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Then based on your expertise, do you see anything that Build Canada Homes will do significantly differently from the previous three bureaucracies?

[Mike Moffatt]

I almost can't answer that question, and it's not a defence of BCH. Rather, I don't know what BCH is trying to accomplish. I know at a high level it's about creating homes that the market would not otherwise create—and there's a need for that too. Our focus is mostly on the middle class, but there is a real need for housing for families with lower incomes. I also recognize that it's designed to help with housing innovation.

Other than that, there is a real lack of goals or targets when it comes to BCH, so it's hard to tell how much differently this will operate from past initiatives.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Reynolds, for those questions.

Mr. Joseph, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank all the witnesses for joining us.

I'm going to go to Mr. White to talk about Build Canada Homes.

There's very good news in Quebec, more specifically in Longueil—Saint‑Hubert, where 1,055 housing units will be built. A few weeks ago, the federal government signed an agreement with the Quebec government regarding Build Canada Homes for 18 projects and new affordable housing units. Quebeckers are very happy. It's reassuring, but I won't go into the details.

My question is very simple: Can you explain how the Canada-Quebec housing agreement respects Quebec's jurisdiction while accelerating the construction of affordable housing for Quebeckers?

[Alexi White]

I think Build Canada Homes has already been putting a lot of emphasis on reaching out to provinces and agreeing to these kinds of deals. We've seen that in Quebec, as you mentioned. We've seen it in British Columbia. We're hoping to see it in other provinces as well. This is because they have earmarked significant funds from their original five-year investment for transitional and supportive housing, which is desperately needed across the country.

I would say that deeply affordable and especially supportive housing, for sure, is the largest gap, from our perspective, in the housing landscape today. That's why we have tens of thousands of people who are homeless in Canada every night, which is shocking in this day and age.

The Build Canada Homes example in Quebec is a great one. It is an example of federal leadership and provincial co-operation that allows for the unlocking of a whole bunch of new units that otherwise couldn't be there if it wasn't for multiple levels of government coming to the table and saying, “We have to do something about this.”

I think it's a great model. It's a great model for Quebec, and we hope to see all of the provinces and territories partner with Build Canada Homes to make use of the funding that's there.

At the same time, I believe they only set aside a billion dollars of their five-year $13 billion for supportive and transitional housing. Again, transfers to other levels of government are important, but they are not what's going to solve Canada's housing crisis. The numbers of units that we're talking about here are just not anywhere near the size of the crisis when it comes to the need for deeply affordable and supportive units.

We need to find new ways of building at a much higher scale. That's really where I think we need to see the leadership from Build Canada Homes, even more than just continuing to sign agreements to transfer funds to provinces and municipalities.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Would you say the agreement between Build Canada Homes and Quebec on housing shows it's possible to get tangible results for Quebeckers instead of just opposing everything without offering solutions?

[Alexi White]

I think Build Canada Homes is trying to find concrete solutions for all Canadians, including those in Quebec and in every province. I'll leave it at that.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you, Mr. White.

Mr. Chair, do I have a few more seconds?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

You have a minute and a half.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Okay.

Ms. Faiza, why is the government right to focus on these measures, such as Build Canada Homes, the agreement with provinces, and building affordable homes for families?

[Suzanne Faiza]

I suppose in simple terms, ideally, we need cross-government collaboration in order to execute upon a highly complex problem. I'm speaking more from the perspective of a 32-year-old living in Montreal who has been functionally priced out of the housing market. I would personally love to see all levels of government collaborate and actually execute upon this much-needed piece.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

If I understand you correctly, the GST rebate for first-time homebuyers will also help Canadian families buy their first home. Is that right?

[Suzanne Faiza]

That's a good question for Mike. Tapestry has no opinion on the HST rebate, etc. I hear a multitude of opinions on whether or not tax breaks can, ultimately, be good or bad for Canadians.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you.