Budget 2026 shifts Liberal government's language on home construction targets

Summary

• Budget 2026 omitted the original Liberal pledge to double the pace of overall home construction introduced in the 2025 election platform.
• The 511-page document instead outlines a plan to triple non-market housing construction to 24,000 starts per year over the next decade.
• Housing Minister Gregor Robertson's office confirmed via a prior May statement that the government remains "working toward doubling homebuilding over the next decade."
• Parliamentary Budget Officer Annette Ryan previously noted that fiscal updates lacked specific targets or metrics for the pace of home building.
• Conservative housing critic Scott Aitchison accused the Liberals of dropping the double-building promise in favor of a smaller non-market target he called "unbearably slow."
• CMHC data indicates national housing starts are up more than 20 per cent since the pre-pandemic period, yet the pace remains insufficient to restore affordability.
• The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. forecasts a gap of up to 238,000 affordable homes by 2036 under current "business-as-usual" conditions.
• Experts including Mike Moffatt & Andy Yan described the original goal of 500,000 annual starts as aspirational & potentially excessive given population growth constraints.
• Federal policies to stimulate building include GST waivers on new homes, new infrastructure funds, & the Crown corporation Build Canada Homes.
• Budget 2026 proposed $13 billion over 10 years for Build Canada Homes & tens of billions to end homelessness.
• Challenges to meeting housing targets include rising material costs from U.S. tariffs, a soft labour market, & interest rates set independently by the Bank of Canada.