Feds identify 56 government properties for conversion to affordable housing
The new plan is to offer most of them for long-term lease rather than one-time sale to keep the lands in public hands and ensure housing built on them remains affordable.
On Monday, the federal government announced the addition of 56 properties to a new public lands bank intended for long-term leases to developers for housing construction. Housing Minister Sean Fraser stated that this initiative aims to enhance the availability of affordable housing for Canadians.
Fraser made the announcement in Halifax, just before a three-day cabinet retreat to prepare for the upcoming fall session of Parliament. “Making public lands available for home construction is going to reduce the cost of construction and, in turn, reduce the cost of living,” Fraser explained.
The public lands bank now includes various properties such as former military bases, Canada Post sites, and federal office buildings, many of which were previously designated for sale due to their inactivity. The new approach will offer these properties for long-term lease rather than a one-time sale, to keep them in public hands and ensure that housing built on these lands remains affordable.
The list of properties spans 28 municipalities across seven provinces and will expand over time as federal land and buildings undergo review. Five properties previously identified in the April budget are advancing to the development phase, with the government seeking expressions of interest or proposals from developers. Four of these properties are located on former military bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Ottawa, and the fifth is a former National Film Board building in Montreal.
Conservative housing critic Scott Aitchison criticized the plan, claiming it repeats promises made by the Liberals since 2015. He noted that both the 2015 Liberal platform and the 2017 federal budget included commitments to make public lands available for affordable housing. “It took nine years after he promised to build homes on federal land for Justin Trudeau to actually identify the few parcels of land he would build on,” Aitchison remarked.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a social media video statement, criticized Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s proposal to sell federal land, saying it would only generate quick profits without benefiting Canadians. The Conservative plan suggests selling 15 percent of federal buildings to be converted into homes.
Fraser indicated that construction on the initial five properties might begin in the first half of 2025. Housing will be a major focus of the cabinet retreat as Canadians continue to deal with high costs and limited availability.
This cabinet session, held three weeks before Parliament reconvenes for the fall, may be the last significant opportunity for the government to reset its image before the next election, which must be held by October 2025 but could occur earlier. The retreat will include an update on the status of Prime Minister Trudeau’s supply and confidence agreement with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, which has allowed the Liberals to survive confidence votes since 2022 by implementing NDP priorities like dental care and the start of a national pharmacare program.
The agreement is expected to last until next spring, though there is increased pressure on the NDP to reconsider it, especially after the Liberal government requested the Canada Industrial Relations Board to initiate binding arbitration between the Teamsters union and Canada’s two major national railway companies. A work stoppage occurred when both Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out workers amid stalled contract negotiations, leading to a suspension of freight trains and some commuter traffic. Trains are expected to return to more normal schedules on Monday, though full service restoration will take time. The Teamsters union plans to challenge the decision in court and will protest at the Liberal caucus retreat in Halifax.
The retreat will also address ongoing supply-chain and labor issues, including disruptions in ports, railways, and airlines, which have contributed to high inflation and an affordability crisis in Canada. The housing crisis, exacerbated by high interest rates and rapid immigration, has seen average home prices and rents rise sharply over the past five years.
Last year’s cabinet retreat in Charlottetown focused heavily on housing but resulted in no concrete announcements. This year, the government plans to spur the construction of 3.87 million new housing units over the next seven years, with estimates indicating that between 3.1 million and 3.5 million new units are needed by 2031.
The retreat will also cover topics such as immigration, temporary foreign workers, industrial strategies including the electric vehicle market, child care, and Canada-U.S. relations. The meetings will start with a working dinner and a discussion on global issues featuring Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor. The following two days will include expert presentations on housing, immigration, and middle-class economics, featuring speakers like Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, Senator Hassan Yussuff, former president of the Canadian Labour Congress, and Maya Roy, former CEO of YWCA Canada. Tuesday’s discussions will focus on Canada-U.S. relations, with contributions from Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman and former ambassadors Frank McKenna and David MacNaughton.
