British Columbia said new minimum residential construction targets would add almost 39,000 units across 10 cities in the next five years, to address the growing housing shortage.
Burnaby, the province's third-largest city by population after Vancouver and Surrey, aims to add 10,240 new homes by September 2030 under the new targets announced by the B.C. Housing Ministry.
Richmond, just south of Vancouver, would add 6,753 new houses, followed by Langley with 6,596 units and Coquitlam, east of Vancouver, with 6,481 units within five years. The smaller municipalities of Langford, Courtenay, Langford, Penticton, Pitt Meadows, Squamish and Vernon would add a combined 8,860 units.
The province last spring announced the cities as the fourth group of local governments, for a total of 40, that must create enough units to meet at least 75% of their estimated housing needs over the next five years. The latest announcement adds specific numbers of units for each municipality, with more than 14,000 of the 38,930 new units expected to be below-market rentals.
The new targets come as Vancouver, the province’s largest city, fell short in meeting targets in the first year of the province’s requirement under the Housing Supply Act. They also come as some of B.C.'s biggest developers have called on the province and federal government to ease restrictions on foreign investment as the country grapples with a housing crisis.
Vancouver produced a total of 4,143 new housing units, including affordable and market-rate projects, in the year that ended Sept. 30. That number fell below the 5,202 units targeted by the province.
The targets approved in September 2023 enable the province to set housing targets for cities based on the areas of greatest need and highest projected growth. The targets are part of the province’s strategy under the Housing Supply Act that aims to increase the supply, availability and affordability of housing in areas with the greatest needs.
"Many of these communities are already leaders in building more homes," the ministry said in the latest announcement. "Municipalities such as Burnaby, Langford and Penticton have already taken proactive steps such as refining local policies and forging strong partnerships to better meet the housing needs of their residents," the B.C. Housing Ministry said.
More than 16,000 new units have been built in the first 30 cities to have housing targets established.