EllisDon Capital

The Federal Lands Initiative is a $316.9 million program designed to facilitate the transfer or leasing of surplus federal lands and buildings to eligible applicants. These properties are made available at reduced prices or, in some cases, at no cost, with the objective of transforming them into affordable housing.

This bulletin describes opportunities coming out of the latest update to the Initiative.

This bulletin summarizes the CMHC’s latest update to the Co-operative Housing Development program.

The update includes information on funding options, approval processes, and timelines for co-operative housing initiatives.

CMHC has issued updates regarding the current Multi-Unit Mortgage Loan Insurance program. The updates change refinancing criteria, project classification, MLI Select Criteria, amortization extension, use of lender correspondents, and environmental site contamination requirements.

This bulletin from EllisDon Community Builders summarizes aspects of the updates that might affect you.

In April 2024, the Government of Canada delivered the 2024 Federal Budget: Fairness For Every Generation. The budget for this year focuses on building more affordable homes by increasing funding and introducing new initiatives to ensure equal opportunities for all Canadians. This bulletin from EllisDon Community Builders provides a summary of proposed measures.

Ontario is proposing the “Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act” as its next step in increasing housing supply.

With the Act, which will be brought forward under Bill 185, the government suggests changes it says will affect a number of current barriers to housing developments. Some of these changes affect current development charges and Ontario’s land-use planning framework; the government says they are intended to reduce development timelines and costs.

As housing continues to be unattainable for many, the Government of Ontario says Bill 185 focuses on providing solutions to support the construction of more housing units, and to meet the Ontario Housing Supply Action Plan target of building 1.5M homes by 2031. This bulletin highlights the solutions being proposed in Bill 185.

On November 21 2023, the Government of Canada (the “Government”) released the 2023 Fall Economic Statement: Building a strong economy that works for everyone. The budget for this year delivers the next phase of the government’s economic plan to help create good jobs, build more homes, and make life more affordable. This bulletin from EllisDon Community Builders provides a summary of Canada’s Housing Action Plan.

The Government’s 2023 Fall Economic Statement allocates $20.8 billion in spending over the next six years focusing on priorities including affordable housing, elevated interest rates and high inflation. The International Monetary Fund projects that Canada’s economic plan will deliver the strongest economic growth in the G7 next year (Figure 1). Canada’s economy has remained resilient since the pandemic recession and has had a strong recovery. Yet, Canadians continue to struggle and face economic challenges as housing costs remain high, and to combat inflation around the world, the world’s central banks have implemented the steepest series of interest rate increases in decades.