Unlocking Housing Affordability: How Government, Developers, and Banks Can Lead the Way

Toronto, ON – June 1, 2026

Canada’s housing crisis demands bold, coordinated action. The federal government is advancing a comprehensive plan to make housing attainable again, and your partnership is essential to its success. Here’s how government policy, industry innovation, can work together to deliver results:

1. A National Plan with Clear Goals

• The government is setting an explicit goal to end the middle-class housing crisis by 2035, with annual performance indicators focused on affordability and supply.
• Policies will prioritize family-sized homes and home ownership options, ensuring new housing meets real community needs.

2. Empowering Condo Developers and Big Banks

• Developers are urging big banks to lower presale thresholds for construction financing (from 70% to 50% or less), which would enable more condo projects to break ground and accelerate supply.
• The government can support this by encouraging banks to modernize lending practices and by extending CMHC mortgage insurance and low-cost loans to condo developments, not just rentals.

3. HST Rebate: Giving Developers an Edge

• The enhanced HST rebate on new owner-occupied housing, recently introduced in Ontario, gives developers a significant advantage by reducing costs and making new homes more competitive.
• The government is working to extend this rebate beyond one year and expand it to all provinces, while also exploring a direct-to-buyer model for development charges to save buyers tens of thousands of dollars.

4. Regional and City Housing News: Local Solutions

• Cities like Ottawa are demonstrating that a pipeline of mid-sized developments can deliver thousands of homes quickly and flexibly, reducing risk and ensuring steady supply.
• Innovations in B.C. and Ontario—such as modular, prefab, and mass timber construction— re cutting build times by up to 60% and costs by up to 20%.

5. How Build Canada Homes (BCH) Can Build Affordable Housing Fast

• The new Build Canada Homes Crown corporation consolidates responsibility for affordable housing, enabling faster approvals and direct development on federal lands.
• BCH can assemble, prepare, and service lands, releasing shovel-ready sites to private-sector builders and locking in affordability through long-term leases and standardized building types.

6. Getting Nation-Building Projects Off the Ground

• The government is investing billions in infrastructure and housing, streamlining regulatory approvals, and leveraging public- private partnerships to accelerate major projects.
• Lessons from the past show that with more responsive systems, Canada could have built 30% more homes between 2006 and 2024—highlighting the need for regulatory reform and better planning.

7. How GTA Strategies Can Assist the Construction Industry

GTA Strategies is ready to help you:

1. Advocate for Policy Change: We’ll support your engagement with government to push for HST rebate extensions, streamlined approvals, and financing reforms
2. Facilitate Partnerships: We connect developers, municipalities, and financial institutions to unlock new projects and funding sources.
3. Promote Innovation: We help scale modular, prefab, and gentle- density solutions across regions.
4. Strategic Communications: We amplify your successes and advocate for the industry’s role in nation-building.

By working together, we can make housing attainable again, deliver more homes faster, and ensure a thriving, innovative construction sector for years to come.