Municipalities across B.C. are urging the province to restore funding for stalled affordable housing projects and realign its provincial housing targets with the funding available to local governments.
A resolution calling for the changes received majority support from mayor and councillor representatives at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) 2026 convention in Vancouver Wednesday and will be brought forward to the province.
“UBCM urges the [province] to reinstate the Community Housing Fund, providing funding to support cancelled or stalled projects, and predictable, ongoing capital funding to support the delivery of non-market and affordable housing,” said Jenna Stoner, vice-president of UBCM and councillor for the District of Squamish.
The province indefinitely paused new intakes for the Community Housing Fund in the 2026 budget. The fund was launched in 2018 as part of the B.C. government’s budget housing plan to support the construction of new rental housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
The funding pause is having a significant impact on people in need of housing, according to Sean Orr, councillor for the City of Vancouver and one of the councillors from various municipalities and regions who submitted the motion.
“We desperately need a massive outbuild of affordable homes, non-market homes, co-ops in B.C. And for the province to stall that means we're just exacerbating the housing crisis,” Orr said.
He said some affordable housing projects that had been planned or had already started construction have had to pause or be cancelled following the pullback of Community Housing Fund funding. Some of them have to seek financing from other sources or shift their models toward market rental housing, he said.
Susan Kim, councillor for the City of Victoria who also supported the motion, said she was aware some projects for transitional homes for women fleeing violence were cancelled as a result of the funding being pulled.
“To pull the Community Housing Fund is actually a threat to public health writ large,” said Kim.
Councillors also raised concerns about municipalities being required to meet housing targets set by the province while funding programs such as the Community Housing Fund are unavailable.
“It's like asking a carpenter to build you a bookshelf … and then they take away half the wood,” Kim said.
“You're asking us to do something without the resources while promising us the resources.”
The Community Housing Fund resolution was put forward by councillors from Vancouver, Victoria and Saanich.
