BC’s Budget 2026, released on February 18th, introduced significant uncertainty for Housing Squamish, the Squamish community, and the community housing sector in BC.
The provincial government’s decision to defer the Community Housing Fund left a 100-unit affordable housing project planned at 39900 Government Road in the Northyards neighbourhood, in a state of limbo. [Click to read our Feb 20, 2026 post.]
The Community Housing Fund was created in 2018 to support the development and operation of affordable mixed-income rental housing for families, seniors, individuals, and people with disabilities who can live independently. It is (was) a $3.3 billion program that aimed to build more than 20,000 rental homes for people with low or moderate incomes. It’s a model that includes rent-geared-to-income units where tenants generally pay 30% of income on rent. It also includes some deep subsidy units that benefit people living on income assistance.
What Happened: Impact on Squamish
In May of 2025, the province launched a call for applications to the Community Housing Fund, making $775 million in funding available to support the development of 4,600 rental homes across British Columbia.
An application to the CHF involves extensive planning, coordination and investment, as applications must meet BC Housing Guidelines and CHF program requirements. Over the past 1.5 years, Housing Squamish worked closely with the District of Squamish and BC Housing to identify a site, conduct site planning and assessment, flood modelling, architectural design, conduct land lease negotiations, and community engagement. In good faith, Housing Squamish invested over $600,000 preparing a CHF application, expecting it would be considered by the province.
Housing Squamish’s vision for 39900 Government Road was to create a mixed-income building with 70% of units offered as rent-geared-to-income (RGI), tying rent to what people earn rather than market rates. Through the Community Housing Fund, operating subsidies would have made these deeply affordable homes financially possible and provided a pathway from homelessness or precarious housing to stable, independent living.
While it was always a possibility this application would not be successful, we did not anticipate the government would decide not to consider any of the applications submitted as part of the BC Budget Decision to defer CHF Funding.
Impacts on the Community Housing Sector
The broader community housing sector now faces greater uncertainty about future funding. The government stated they are “slowing down the pace” of affordable housing funding, but details on what this means in practice are not yet clear.
Planning for and building affordable housing takes years of work and significant financial investment. Tens of millions of dollars from non-profit housing providers in BC went into project preparation. An uncertain funding environment can make organizations hesitate to move forward without a clear pathway to financing. This has the potential to delay new affordable housing projects for years, which will slow the momentum created over the past decade.
The BC Nonprofit Housing Association summarized the impact this way:
“We cannot think of another example of government asking any industry to spend millions in responding in good faith to planned investments and then cancelling the call with no notice. It is unprecedented and shakes the confidence of the community housing sector, as well as our municipal and private sector partners.” -BC Nonprofit Housing Association
Additionally, 27 previously approved Indigenous Housing Fund projects were reversed, further highlighting the uncertainty facing the sector.
To read other responses to BC Budget 2026: Housing Central, including BC Non-Profit Housing Association, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association and the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC.
Why Housing Investment Matters
Investing in stable and affordable housing is essential and cost-effective. Stable, secure housing:
- prevents homelessness,
- reduces reliance on emergency shelters,
- lowers health care and mental health crisis costs,
- reduces community policing and fire response costs,
- reduces reliance on income assistance, and
- creates safer, more resilient communities.
Strategic investment in housing provides smart value. Estimates suggest that an annual investment of $6.7 billion until 2034 could generate $2.4 billion in annual savings and $22-$46 billion in potential growth in BC’s GDP (BCNPHA).
Looking Forward
It’s important to remember that the current deficit in affordable community housing is the result of decades of limited government investment. The sector has been working to catch up, and recent efforts were a step toward addressing this long-standing gap.
We continue to monitor developments and will share updates on BC Budget 2026 and its impacts on affordable housing in our community. Housing Squamish remains committed to creating homes and building strong partnerships.
Photo: Sea to Sky housing leaders meet with The Honourable Gregor Robertson, Federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Patrick Weiler, MP for West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country (second from left). Sarah Ellis from Housing Squamish (3rd from left).