Ottawa pledges $45B for housing and raises the optional insurance cap to $1.5M
The Carney government tabled Budget 2026 on November 5, releasing a broad set of housing measures spanning mortgage insurance, the foreign buyer ban, and new funding commitments that will shape conversations between brokers and their clients across Canada.
The big numbers: $45 billion and 200,000 homes
The centrepiece is a $45-billion total capitalisation of Build Canada Homes (BCH), comprising the $13 billion committed in Budget 2025 plus a new $13-billion injection beginning in 2027–28.
Ottawa says BCH is on track to produce approximately 200,000 homes over the next decade, with a target to triple annual non-market housing starts to 24,000.
RBC assistant chief economist Cynthia Leach, speaking ahead of the budget, described the task as “less about new programs and more about disciplined execution,” noting that federal housing spending is set to decline sharply as existing programmes expire.
BMO Capital Markets added separately that “near-term inflation trends and any resolution of the trade dispute will matter more for both yields and the loonie” than the headline housing figures.
Stephanie Shewchuk, housing policy lead at RBC Thought Leadership in Toronto, previously said that maintaining buyer confidence requires the government to resolve outstanding details quickly
“When people are making decisions about probably maybe the biggest purchase they will ever make, they want the details to be clear,” Shewchuk said.
“Otherwise, they start to develop more of a wait-and-see approach, and you lose some of the momentum.”
Mortgage rules, insurance, and the foreign buyer ban
Ottawa proposes raising the home price ceiling for optional mortgage insurance from $1 million to $1.5 million, giving buyers with a 20% deposit on higher-priced properties access to a wider range of lender offers and potentially more competitive rates.
No start date has been confirmed; a 30-year amortisation applies only where at least one borrower is a first-time buyer or the property is newly built.
From February 1, 2027, triplexes and fourplexes will qualify under new insurance rules, with construction loans insurable for up to 90% of projected completed value.
Private insurers will also be permitted to compete with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on loans for buildings of five to 50 units.
The federal proposal to extend the ban on foreign purchases of existing homes runs to January 1, 2029, with new residential properties exempted to stimulate preconstruction activity.
National Bank of Canada (NBC) chief economist Stéphane Marion recently said he believed the ban was undermining investment appeal: “How can you pretend to be a standout investor again if you tell foreign buyers you can’t touch the residential market in Canada?”
For brokers, the most closely watched measure may be the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) income verification pilot, backed by $13 million over three years with testing starting in 2027–28.
Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) says it will continue pressing for direct broker and brokerage access – which remains unresolved since consultations began in late 2024.
Federal deposit insurance is also proposed to rise from $100,000 to $250,000.
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