Mr. Speaker, tonight is my maiden speech, and it is on a topic that is the heart of many Canadian lives: housing. Some of us have mentioned this quite a bit tonight. As we consider the main estimates for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, I want to reflect not only on the numbers before us, but also on the human realities that they represent, such as families striving for stability, young people trying to enter the housing market, and communities working to grow with both dignity and inclusivity. It is more than a fiscal conversation. It is a conversation about how we build a more affordable, accessible and equitable Canada for everyone.

These were the issues and the concerns that I heard as I knocked on the doors of and talked on the phones to the people of South Shore—St. Margarets.

I am thankful for this opportunity tonight to revisit the department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada's main estimates for 2025-26, and I would like to highlight today how these estimates, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's programs in particular, will help Canadians get ahead.

In terms of public infrastructure, it has always been and will continue to be a key driver of Canada's success as a nation. It plays a vital role in building a resilient community and supporting economic competitiveness, both at home as well as abroad. Communities are the foundation of a country and are built upon the vast and complex network of transit systems, roads, water, waste-water infrastructure, active transportation systems, cultural facilities and more. This network reaches into every community and touches every Canadian. It allows our businesses to thrive locally and globally, makes life affordable for Canadians, and helps protect our environment.

HICC, with its proposal of investments, wants to support affordable housing and a modern climate-resilient infrastructure that is also resilient to extreme weather events. It wants better transit and federally owned bridges under this portfolio, effective and reliable water and waste-water facilities, and important community spaces, all the infrastructure that we are longing for. In addition to this department, it works with these communities to deliver programs designed to prevent and reduce homelessness, something that we have talked quite a bit about during QP.

The CMHC plays an integral role with this portfolio as the lead organization delivering housing programs. To accomplish this important and large mandate, the HICC collaborates with indigenous partners, as well as all orders of government and other important stakeholders. In the 2025-26 estimates, as most members have been privy to, the HICC is seeking just over $16 billion in total portfolio authorities for investments in housing and homelessness, public transit, major infrastructure projects and green, rural and northern infrastructure across the country.

As we all know, sometimes laying the pipe is not sexy, but it is the pipe and the infrastructure that we need to get into the ground in order to build the things on top of it. Some of the things that they also wish to deliver are the new HICC programming announced in budget 2024, including the Canada housing infrastructure fund, and continued funding for programs like Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy, the green and inclusive community buildings program, and the investing in Canada infrastructure program.

Managing federally owned bridges is also in this portfolio, including the rehabilitation of the Québec Bridge, a historically important bridge that requires a major structural maintenance program; the reconfiguration work on the Bonaventure Expressway and steel reinforcement work on the Jacques Cartier Bridge.

The portfolio also includes funding for these CMHC programs. In these main estimates, CMHC is seeking to access $6.4 billion to support delivery of important programs. This would include an increase of $740 million, primarily related to three key programs. These programs are $101.5 million under the housing accelerator fund, $309.1 million under the affordable housing fund, and $248.1 million under the urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.

In terms of the Governor-General's special warrants, as the House is aware, the typical process calls for the standard interim supply of three-twelfths of the first quarter of the year. This ensures that departments have sufficient spending authority to cover the period of these main estimates to receive the royal estimate. Given the dissolution of Parliament back in March 23, the Governor General's special warrants of just over $2.75 billion were issued to this portfolio to cover the period between April 1 and June 29 to ensure that Canadians will continue to have access to these programs that support their communities.

CMHC has accessed $1.58 billion of this funding to help maintain important housing programs at a time when Canadians are facing a housing crisis. Some of the positive outcomes, and I have mentioned a few, are that the Government of Canada remains committed to delivering an unprecedented level of programming to support housing and infrastructure needs across this country. We are continuing to implement programming to improve housing supply and affordability. Overall, more than 320,000 units have been repaired or committed to under this national housing strategy, exceeding the target of 300,000. Of these, 33.2% of funding went towards meeting the needs of women and their children, exceeding that original target again, which was 25%, and helping to ensure that equity-deserving groups and vulnerable populations are being housed, having a place to call home.

Programs like the housing accelerator fund are creating better homes and outcomes for Canadians by incentivizing municipalities to cut the red tape and increase housing densification. As of March 31, $4.3 billion has been committed under these housing accelerator funds to fact-track over 119,000 permits for new homes. The Government of Canada has already signed more than 200 agreements under the fund with these municipalities to commit to breaking these barriers to housing and streamlining this regulatory process, once again getting those pipes and lines into the ground.

These are actions that are expected to support the construction of over 750,000 new homes over the next decade. CMHC has also committed to $23 billion in loans through the apartment construction loan program to support the creation of almost 60,000 units and build rental apartment projects across Canada. These are the different types of housing that we are talking about here tonight. This is in addition to other incentives, such as the housing design catalogue, which makes 50 standardized designs readily available for homebuyers, which will actually speed up the construction.

In 2021, 47% of the renter households in Canada reported experiencing one or more of the following challenges, because we know that there are some challenges, such as housing costs being over 30% of their income, housing not being suitable for the size of their household, or housing that needed repairs. Once again, that is the infrastructure repair renewal.

Helping Canadians access affordable and non-market housing is a key priority for our government. Social housing programs deliver meaningful results to Canadians. As of March 31, there have been 1,328 approved applications under this affordable housing fund, with a total commitment of almost $11.99 billion. To put this in a more meaningful context, to date, 46,000 new units have been committed through the affordable housing fund, nearly 30,000 of which are under 80% of the median market rent, with rents expected to average $716 per month.

Another almost 175,000 units have been repaired or renewed through that fund, with 135,000 falling under 80% of the median market rent value, averaging about $827 a month. The affordable housing fund is making a difference alongside programs like the federal community housing initiative, which is helping to preserve 48,000 community housing units, and the $1.5-billion co-operative housing development program will help support a new generation of non-profit co-operative housing. As the former board chair of the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia, I know that it is these types of non-profit and co-operative housing that are making a meaningful impact in my riding of South Shore—St. Margarets.

The Government of Canada is deeply committed to walking the path of reconciliation alongside our indigenous partners and communities. We recognize that indigenous households are almost twice as likely to experience poor housing conditions compared to the general population. The funding included in the main estimates will support indigenous housing needs in urban, rural and in northern areas.

Notably, the urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy will make a meaningful contribution to the realization of indigenous self-determining for housing. We need to keep building a renewed and meaningful relationship with indigenous peoples based on collaboration and partnership. We are hearing a lot about collaboration and partnership in the House, and I hope my colleagues across the aisle will take note of this.

The Government of Canada is focused on addressing the housing crisis. Investments made through CMHC are critical to the success of our housing programs. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada is continuing to support and complement CMHC's work through further housing investments, programs, supportive infrastructure and public transit through the Canada housing infrastructure fund and the Canada public transit fund, respectively.

In closing, the challenges we are facing as a country begin at home, and so must our response. That is why the Government of Canada remains firmly committed to building the housing and infrastructure that form the backbone of our strong, inclusive and affordable communities.

The main estimates before us today will support the HICC and its portfolio to deliver on these commitments to Canadians in addressing affordable housing. We are taking bold new action, such as the launch of “build Canada homes” to accelerate housing construction and also to unlock supply. At the same time, we are building on proven programs in partnerships that are already delivering results. I talked about a couple of them already that are surpassing goals.

Through it all, we are focused on making housing more affordable, helping Canadians get ahead and building the strongest economy in the G7. I hope that as colleagues from all walks of life across the table, we will work together to get some of these programs established to help all Canadians, because at the end of the day, that is who we are here for, our constituents, and we are here to help all Canadians.

Jessica Fancy-Landry

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