B.C. housing minister rejects calls for repeal of high-density housing laws

Mayors in 16 Metro Vancouver municipalities are pushing back against some of the B.C. NDP’s signature housing policies.

A coalition of municipalities in British Columbia is calling on the province to repeal housing legislation designed to increase supply through higher density, but the housing minister says there’s no going “backward.”

Sixteen Metro Vancouver mayors, including those in Surrey, Burnaby and Richmond, say the legislation ignores local realities, raises costs and lacks financial support from the province for the necessary infrastructure.

They want two bills repealed that require municipalities to meet housing mandates, increase density on lots previously zoned for single-detached homes and designate transit hubs for density.

However, Housing Minister Christine Boyle says these policies are “making a real difference” and that government has no plans to make further changes to them.

When asked if the province would give the municipalities more money for infrastructure, Boyle says money is “tight” for every level of government and that it has already made “important investments in infrastructure,” which local governments can use in ways they see fit.

Boyle says she can’t speak to next year’s provincial budget but B.C. continues “to advocate for more federal infrastructure dollars as well.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2025.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press