$43 million in new federal housing funding announced for City of Burnaby

Metrotown skyline. (City of Burnaby)

The City of Burnaby is now the third municipal government in British Columbia to receive a slice of the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).

Federal minister of housing Sean Fraser announced today over $43 million from the fund will be allocated to Burnaby’s municipal government. In exchange, in accordance to the stipulations of the HAF, the City will relax some of its red tape, simplify its review and approval processes, and adopt zoning reforms to improve the creation of new housing supply to help meet demand.

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It is anticipated the allocation to Burnaby will help accelerate the creation of 1,300 homes over the next three years, and over 11,300 homes over the next decade.

“By working with cities, mayors, and all levels of government, we are helping to get more homes built for Canadians at prices they can afford,” said Fraser in a statement.

Burnaby mayor Mike Hurley says 1,200 affordable homes are already in the construction process.

“Burnaby’s innovative housing policies are driving the creation of thousands of affordable homes in our community. The support of our partners in the federal government through the Housing Accelerator Fund is integral to delivering affordable housing for Burnaby residents,” said the Mayor.

Burnaby’s allocation from the HAF is comparable to the $42.4 million set aside for Kitchener, Ontario. Both Burnaby and Kitchener have a similar population of roughly 250,000 residents each, and their geographical sizes are comparable.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $115 million from the HAF to the City of Vancouver, which will help expedite over 3,200 new homes over the next three years, and catalyze over 40,000 new homes over the next decade.

This follows the first BC announcement in late October 2023 that the City of Kelowna will receive $31.5 million.

To be considered to receive a portion of the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, municipal governments need to apply and pledge that they will grow the housing supply faster than their historical average, increase densification, encourage transit-oriented development, speed up approval times, and reduce red tape.

Other recipients so far include Calgary with $228 million, Mississauga with $113 million, Brampton with $114 million, London with $74 million, $59 million to Vaughan, $93.5 million to Hamilton, $79 million to Halifax, $15.5 million to Moncton, and $900 million to the Government of Quebec.

Through HAF, the federal government is aiming to expedite at least 100,000 new homes over the next three years, and 250,000 new homes over 10 years.

With the allocations to Vancouver and Burnaby, the Metro Vancouver region as a whole has now received over $157 million through the HAF, with more announcements expected soon.

The allocation to Burnaby follows a disagreement between the federal government and Metro Vancouver Regional District earlier this fall, with the federal government delaying the HAF announcements for cities such as Burnaby and Surrey due to the impasse over the regional district’s new Development Cost Charges (DCCs) on new housing. Municipal politicians on the board of directors for the regional district sided with the federal government’s position, but were unable to push for a majority decision to delay the implementation of the DCCs.

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