Housing boom: Winnipeg to be part of national homebuilding program

The federal government is planning to kickstart a building boom in Canadian cities, including Winnipeg. CTV’s Jon Hendricks reports.

Ottawa wants to start a housing boom.

As part of the newly created Build Canada Homes agency, the federal government plans to spend $13 billion to speed up affordable home building and the permitting process. Ottawa plans to build 4,000 new homes on six federally-owned sites across Canada.

“We’ll build Canada homes and quickly leverage public lands for housing,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney. “So projects are de-risked, approvals are greenlit, and builders can do what they do best, which is to build.”

But unlike traditional builds which are typically done on site, the new agency will prioritize the use of modern methods of construction, including factory-built modular homes, like the ones from Winkler’s Grandeur Housing.

“It’s really fantastic to watch because it is literally an assembly line where the unit moves through,” said Lanny McInnes, president of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association. McInnes says these sorts of homes are fully code compliant and would work in Manitoba’s harsh climate.

Housing experts say building more affordable housing is a positive step. However, some questions linger.

“There’s also questions about when you build these units, who’s going to manage them and how they are going to be allocated for various people in need,” wondered David Amborski, the director of the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Toronto Metropolitan University.

The questions that can only be answered once the sites are selected and the homes are actually built. But McInnes is optimistic about this program.

“We see the announcement as being very positive, that will help not just deal with the shortage of affordable housing but could help housing right across the spectrum.”

Construction on the first round of projects is expected to begin next year.