Federal Budget 2025: Build Canada Homes, Affordability, and the Crucial Test for Canada’s Commitment to the Right to Housing

Ottawa, ON (November 4, 2025): The federal government has released Budget 2025: Building Canada Strong, the very first budget to come out of this new government.

The National Right to Housing Network (NRHN) is encouraged to see continued federal attention to building affordable housing through the previously announced $13 billion for Build Canada Homes, where a commitment to focus primarily on non-market housing (presumably public, co-operative, and non-profit housing) is being maintained. Similarly, we are pleased to see the reiteration of the government’s previous announcement for supportive and transitional housing.

It remains unclear whether Build Canada Homes will focus on outcome-oriented targets, as recommended by the National Housing Council and Federal Housing Advocate.

NRHN is disappointed to see that despite the significant portion of tenants that make up Canada’s population in core housing need, there is a lack of mention of the human right to housing, renter protections, or protection of existing affordable housing stock.

“We are hopeful that despite the lack of mention of renters in Budget 2025, the federal government remains committed to implementation of past commitments to the human right to housing under the National Housing Strategy Act, as well as the Renter Bill of Rights,” says Michèle Biss, Executive Director of NRHN. “Building more affordable housing through Build Canada Homes is like pouring water into a bathtub, but without adequate measures to protect renters and existing affordable rental stock, we are leaving the plug open.”

There is promise for the implementation of Build Canada Homes — and NRHN looks forward to supporting the federal government as they determine how affordability will be defined in projects funded by the new $13 billion entity.

“The federal government must now ensure the investments in Build Canada Homes reach the people who need them most,” says Jessica Tan, Communications Lead of NRHN. “That means centering the experiences of renters, low-income households, and those facing systemic barriers in every stage of implementation.”

NRHN emphasizes that lasting solutions to the housing crisis require more than funding—they demand accountability, equity, and participation. As mandated under the National Housing Strategy Act, all housing measures should be implemented through a human rights-based framework that prioritizes those in greatest need and ensures transparency in how results are achieved.

NRHN stands in solidarity with feminist partners in celebrating Budget 2025’s commitment to the Department for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) for new funding to address barriers to women’s economic prosperity and success, support the vision of a Canada free of gender-based violence from coast-to-coast-to-coast, and advance 2SLGBTQI+ equality, including keeping 2SLGBTQI+ communities and their allies safe.

NRHN and its partners will continue to analyze the details of Budget 2025 as they emerge and share a more detailed analyses on what Budget 2025 means for renters, those in greatest housing need, and Canada’s housing and homelessness crisis.

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NRHN’s pre-budget recommendations:

1. A national plan to eliminate homelessness with clear, rights-based targets and timelines, supported by an additional $3.5 billion annually in homelessness investments;

2. Significant expansion of non-market housing, including targets to double Canada’s share of community, co-op, and non-profit housing to 6.9% of total housing stock by 2034;

3. Full implementation of a Renters’ Bill of Rights as a set of national tenant protection standards, ensuring proportionality in eviction decisions, rent control, and accessibility rights;

4. Strengthened Tenant Protection Fund investments to support tenant organizing, legal supports, and community advocacy; and

5. Increased income supports such as the Canada Disability Benefit to levels consistent with the poverty line and the right to adequate housing.

   (Read our full list of recommendations here).

For more information, contact:

Jessica Tan
Communications Lead
National Right to Housing Network
Phone: 613-621-4575
Email: jessica@housingrights.ca