Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-20, legislation that would transform Build Canada Homes into a Crown corporation and expand yet another layer of federal bureaucracy in the housing file.
At a time when Canadians are facing the worst housing affordability crisis in a generation, what they need is action that lowers costs and unleashes supply. What this bill offers instead is more bureaucracy expanding its administrative authority, and $13 billion in new spending without a credible plan to actually build the homes that Canada was promised. That could not have been more evident than in the speech from the member across, in which he spent 10 minutes calling us “far right” and slandering us. I am a little more dumbfounded now than I was before I walked in, but hopefully we will get some answers.
Let us be clear that what Bill C-20 does is that it converts Build Canada Homes, which exists as a special operating agency, into a full Crown corporation. It establishes a corporate structure, a board and expanded powers, and folds the Canada Lands Company into its portfolio. It grants this new entity the power to provide advice to ministers, departments, agencies and other Crown corporations. However, Canadians are not short on advice; they are short on homes.
During the 2025 election campaign, the Liberal government promised that Build Canada Homes would fulfill three core functions: first, building affordable housing at scale; second, catalyzing a new housing industry; and third, providing financing to affordable home builders. Those are lofty promises, and we must measure legislation not by theory but by its results and evidence.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has reviewed this initiative. What did the PBO conclude? The Liberals promised 500,000 homes per year, half a million homes annually, yet the PBO reported that there is no plan to achieve that goal and that Build Canada Homes would build approximately 5,200 homes per year. These 5,000 homes will not restore affordability in this country, which needs hundreds of thousands more units annually just to keep pace with demand.
What will this cost Canadians? Bill C-20 represents $13 billion over five years, $11.5 billion for Build Canada Homes and $1.5 billion for the Canada Lands Company transfer, yet after spending $219 million just on bureaucrats to run the new office, the PBO stated that Build Canada Homes will fund the same types of projects that were already funded under CMHC's affordable housing fund, with the same unit costs and the same distribution and affordability. In other words, we are spending billions of dollars to duplicate what already exists. This would be the government's third housing agency and fourth housing bureaucracy.
Builders across this country, from Vancouver to Halifax, from rural communities to our largest cities, are pleading for less government in the building process, not more. They are asking for streamlined approvals, predictable permitting, reduced developmental charges, lower taxes and faster timelines. The Liberal government believes that if something is not working, the solution is to create another agency. However, housing is not built by bureaucrats; it is built by builders.
In order to build, we need prices to be cut. For prices to be cut, we need to build. Bill C-20 does not meaningfully cut the costs that builders face. It does not eliminate the GST on new homes. It does not mandate municipalities to increase supply. It does not cut developmental charges. It does not address capital flows leaving Canada due to punitive tax policies. Bill C-20 is not what future homeowners need.
Do not take my word for it. Take the word of the Ontario Home Builders' Association, who had this to say:
The Ontario Home Builders' Association...is deeply disappointed with the lack of support for Ontario’s home builders and buyers in the 2025 Federal Budget....
The budget presented no new measures to unlock supply and restore affordability....
The government’s continued inaction has put [100,000] jobs...at risk—from architects and engineers, to trades and sub trades across the residential construction sector.
They also said that the budget remains “vague regarding the Liberal platform’s commitment to work with municipalities to reduce development charges...by 50 percent.”
If our own home builders do not support the Liberal platform's housing plan, how can we expect the rest of Canada, who are paying this enormous price tag, to support it?
Now let us address the supposed affordability claims. The Prime Minister has suggested that Canadians could expect affordable rents in a range of $600 to $800 per month under this initiative, yet the PBO found that so-called affordable rents under Build Canada Homes could actually exceed current market rents. Applying the government's own affordability criteria, a two-bedroom unit would cost about $2,168 per month for the median household. That is nearly double the $1,100 national median for market rent.