Trudeau Pledges $15 Billion More for Apartment Construction Loan Program

Trudeau Promises an Additional $15 Billion for Apartment Construction Loan Program

April 3, 2024 TruthUSA

The federal government is allocating another $15 billion in the upcoming budget for its apartment construction loan program.

Prime Minister Trudeau made the announcement in Toronto on April 3, saying that the government would be allocating $15 billion as a top-up for the existing Apartment Construction Loan Program with the goal of building a minimum of 30,000 new apartments within the next 10 years.

“Today’s announcement will cut red tape, speed up development, and build more homes, so that Canadians—from teachers, to nurses, to construction workers—can afford to stay in the communities where they work,” Mr. Trudeau said.

He also said the government would be reforming the Apartment Construction Loan Program in an effort to make it easier for companies to construct new homes, including extending the terms of loans, extending financing for the development of homes for students and seniors, as well as being more flexible on requirements for factors like energy efficiency.

The government will also launch a related project, Canada Builds, which it says will leverage the loan program “to support partnerships with provinces and territories that launch their own ambitious housing plans.”

To access the federal funds, however, provinces and territories will be required to meet select criteria, including providing their own funding alongside federal funding, building on certain types of land, and meeting the regular criteria for the Apartment Construction Loan Program.

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The project is based on a similar initiative by the province of British Columbia called BC Builds, which uses low-cost land, low-interest financing, and other methods to speed up the construction of rental homes, with development taking an average of 12 to 18 months.

The announcement is part of the Liberals’ pre-budget tour of the country. The government will release Budget 2024 in full on April 16.

On April 2, Mr. Trudeau also announced a $6 billion infrastructure fund to support homebuilding and a $400 million top-up to the housing accelerator fund. The money will be offered to the provinces only if they agree to several key points, including adopting the recently announced renters’ bill of rights.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has stated that Canada will need 3.5 million new homes by 2030 to meet demand due to Canada’s rising population. CIBC has claimed that number could be as high as nearly 5 million, stating the CMHC used a population estimate lower than the actual population, which just passed an estimated 41 million this year.

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