Following is a letter to Burnaby residents from Mayor Mike Hurley
In the 1980s and early 1990s, federally funded affordable housing fell from tens of thousands of units annually to almost none. Over the following decades it became a major driver of the crisis we face today.
Affordable housing depends on a steady, reliable supply. The Province’s decision in Budget 2026 to indefinitely pause new funding through its primary affordable housing program risks repeating that same kind of short-term thinking–and the same long-term consequences.
At the same time, just last September, the Province mandated significant housing growth targets for municipalities. Burnaby, for example, was tasked with delivering more than 10,000 new homes by 2030, with over a third expected to be affordable.
The contradiction is clear: municipalities are being asked to accelerate delivery, while the funding to do so is pulled back. It gives the impression that, in the span of just a few months, the Province has lost interest in an issue they had been so hands-on with before.
Not to mention, these targets assume municipalities, as the approval body, can control when units are built or occupied. In reality, Burnaby already has 25,000 approved units sitting idle in the city over which we have no authority to start construction or ensure occupancy. This misunderstanding of municipal roles creates significant frustration and concern.
All of this is unfolding amid one of the largest budget deficits British Columbians have faced, which inevitably requires difficult decisions to be made. But if this pause is intended as a cost-saving measure, that raises further questions.
The cost of building affordable housing continues to rise by roughly 4 to 5 per cent annually–on top of the sharp increases seen in recent years–making it more expensive with each passing year to deliver the homes people need. Delaying investment now does not reduce the cost of solving the problem; it only makes it more expensive to fix later.
How is affordable housing delivered?
With so many vacant units across our city, it’s not entirely accurate to say we have a housing crisis. What we have is an affordable housing crisis. The issue isn’t simply the number of homes–it’s that left to the market, rents and prices have risen beyond what people earning average or below-average incomes can afford. A point echoed by Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem earlier this month when asked about housing affordability and the importance of prices better aligning with incomes.
Affordable includes both below-market and non-market housing. What we consider truly affordable housing is non-market. In these cases, rents are set by governments or non-profit providers and are not tied to market rates or conditions. Instead, they are calculated either as a percentage of a tenant’s income–rent-geared-to-income–or set within income-based tiers.
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The more common form is below-market housing, which sets rents based on market benchmarks rather than individual household income, limiting its ability to meet the needs of low and very low income households.
Delivering affordable housing in Burnaby requires coordinated action across all three orders of government, alongside non-profit partners.
The federal government provides large-scale capital funding and financing tools–particularly low-cost loans and grants for projects tied to national housing strategies–through programs delivered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Build Canada Homes. However, it is the provincial government’s contributions–through major capital funding, operating subsidies, and programs delivered by BC Housing–that form the backbone of actually getting projects built.
Meanwhile, Burnaby provides land, planning approvals, infrastructure servicing, and local implementation. Working in partnership with BC Housing nearly 2,000 non-market units have been delivered.
Non-profit housing organizations develop, own, and operate affordable rental and co-op homes, using government funding and their own development and management expertise to deliver projects that would not proceed on a purely private basis. While the Burnaby Housing Authority acts like a developer for public benefit to help fill gaps in the local housing supply.
And how has this budget impacted upon that?
Burnaby has been one of the more active municipalities in this space. Today, there are approximately 6,500 non-market (below-market and subsidized) rental units already in the city–but Budget 2026 significantly re-shapes that landscape.
The Province has reallocated nearly $1.4 billion in housing investments across its current three-year fiscal plan and indefinitely suspended the Community Housing Fund (CHF), the primary funding program that municipalities and non-profits have relied on to build affordable rental housing. The CHF, introduced in 2018 with roughly $3.3 billion in planned funding, has already supported about 13,600 homes and was intended to fund thousands more; its pause effectively cancels the latest intake of proposals, leaving new projects without a funding source.
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While projects with existing funding commitments can continue, many proposed projects–estimated at around 100 by sector advocates–are now in limbo, with non-profits having invested millions in pre-development work with no guarantee of provincial support.
Housing sector leaders have warned that without provincial funding, most deeply affordable projects cannot proceed, projecting a drop in annual community housing completions from roughly 4,500 to about 2,500 homes per year. That is far below the figure the province itself has identified as necessary annually to meet housing demand.
Under these conditions, the bulk of the cost to build “affordable” housing would fall on the City and developers. Residents would ultimately bear the expense through higher property taxes, reallocated capital funds, or draws on municipal reserves. Developers who proceed would need to pass these costs on through high rents or sale prices, meaning the units could simply not be considered as affordable housing (and may just add to the number of vacant units across the city).
What impacts will that have on Burnaby and its residents?
The pause in provincial funding has serious, tangible consequences for the broader economy and community partners. Businesses in British Columbia have publicly expressed concern that the budget’s approach will not stabilize conditions for investment and hiring, undermining confidence in the province as a place where companies can attract and retain workers.
Affordable housing is a key factor in workforce retention–without clarity that affordable homes will be built, businesses face a harder environment for recruiting and keeping employees, which in turn can constrain growth and competitiveness.
This lack of predictable provincial support also makes it far more difficult for non-profits to secure financing, hire staff, enter into land agreements, or attract additional investment.
We are working closely with our local MLAs who will be seeking clarity on timelines and the impact of Budget 2026 on Burnaby-specific affordable housing targets previously set. While the Legislative Assembly sits and the budget is examined and debated, we will continue pressing for answers that clarify both the immediate implications for ongoing projects and the Province’s longer-term intentions for affordable housing.
A collaborative approach is essential to ensure these homes can be delivered in the best interests of all Burnaby residents.
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