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OTTAWA — The federal housing minister says he wants to see the provinces step up their support to get people off the street and into long-term homes.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Gregor Robertson said he’s generally happy with provincial and municipal support for Ottawa’s bid to ramp up affordable housing construction and double the pace of homebuilding across the country.

Robertson said Build Canada Homes — the federal government’s new agency launched in September to scale up affordable, non-market housing in Canada — has so far received about 450 proposals from provinces, cities and private sector developers to build new affordable housing projects.

“I’m really encouraged right out of the gate because the need is so high in almost all provinces and territories,” he said.

“They are certainly stepping up in general, and there’s room for more activity.”

Specifically, Robertson said there’s a shortfall of funding to help address homelessness.

Build Canada Homes’ initial funding was set at $13 billion. In September, Ottawa set aside $1 billion of that to construct transitional or supportive housing — short-term accommodations meant to bridge people from the shelter system into a more permanent home.

That money came with the expectation that provinces and other partners co-invest in matching employment and health supports for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

“I, in particular, need to see support from provinces for supportive housing, transitional housing that helps people off the street and out of shelters into stable housing,” Robertson said.

On the municipal side, the housing minister said he’s been encouraged by many cities across Canada moving ahead with zoning reforms that allow builders to put four units on a lot by default.

©2025 The Canadian Press