seven months later: did we answer the housing questions?

On February 19, 2026, I published a post called “Build Canada Homes: Hope, Urgency, and 10 Questions Canada Must Ask.”

I wasn't against Build Canada Homes.

Quite the opposite.

I wrote:

“good intentions must meet real results.”

And I asked some uncomfortable questions.

Seven months later, I thought it was time to go back and look at them.

Not because I want to say “I told you so.”

Because I want to know what happened.

so, where are we now?

When I wrote my February post, the federal government said Build Canada Homes had already advanced six Direct Build projects and four major partnerships representing more than 7,500 new homes.

By June, after the Build Canada Homes Act received Royal Assent, the government reported that projects and partnerships represented more than 11,000 homes underway or nearing construction.

That is movement.

But a housing announcement is not the same thing as a finished home.

A home under construction isn't the same thing as a home someone can move into.

And a home described as “affordable” isn't necessarily affordable to someone living on a very low income.

That's why I want to return to my original questions.

seven months later, I still want to know:

1. What does “affordable” mean in actual dollars?

Affordable to whom?

A household earning $40,000 a year?

$60,000?

Someone receiving disability or income assistance?

A senior living on a fixed income?

We need the numbers, not just the word affordable.

2. How many of these homes will actually reach the lowest-income Canadians?

“Below market” can still be completely unaffordable to somebody with very little income.

3. How many people experiencing homelessness have actually moved into new homes?

This is one of the measurements I care about most.

Not announcements.

Not proposals.

Not units in a pipeline.

People housed.

4. How many homes are completed and occupied right now?

And how many are still in planning, approval, procurement or construction?

Those are very different stages.

5. What happened to the promise of speed?

Build Canada Homes was created partly around the idea that Canada needed to build differently and faster.

So how long does it actually take from funding announcement to somebody getting a key?

6. Are modular and factory-built methods actually making a measurable difference?

If they are faster or less expensive, show us the numbers.

If they aren't, let's understand why.

7. Who is receiving the housing?

Families?

Seniors?

People experiencing homelessness?

People with disabilities?

Workers?

Middle-income households?

There can be room for different kinds of housing — but we should know what we're building and who it is intended to serve.

8. How much does each unit actually cost?

And what portion is public money?

Transparency matters when billions of dollars are involved.

9. What should Canada use as the real measure of success?

Homes announced?

Homes approved?

Homes under construction?

Homes completed?

Homes occupied?

Or people who were previously unable to find housing and now have a stable place to live?

Those numbers tell very different stories.

10. And perhaps my biggest question: what happens to the people who need housing NOW?

Housing construction takes time.

People don't stop needing shelter while construction is happening.

So how do we build for the future while also helping the people who are already homeless or precariously housed today?

I'm glad something is happening.

I meant that when I wrote my February post, and I mean it now.

But government programs should be allowed to succeed and be questioned at the same time.

Those aren't opposites.

In fact, accountability is how we find out whether good intentions are becoming real results.

Seven months ago, I wrote:

“Housing is a human need. And Canada's future depends on meeting that need now, not just promising more in the years ahead.”

I'm still asking.

How many people have actually gotten through the door?

And how many are still waiting?

💛