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Build Canada Homes wants to hear from construction companies which are pioneering innovative ways of rapidly building affordable housing across the country.
The agency announced a request for information (RFI) Wednesday morning to engage Canadian firms specializing in modern methods of construction such as modular, panelized and prefabricated. The goal is to “gather insights from industry leaders on capabilities, business models, and delivery approaches,” Build Canada Homes said.
The insights are to inform the design of the agency’s upcoming prequalification process and help identify firms for future projects and partnerships.
"Canada needs innovative solutions to meet the urgent demand for affordable housing,” Ana Bailão, the CEO of Ottawa-based Build Canada Homes, said in the announcement. “Modern methods of construction offer a faster, smarter way to build, and this RFI is about partnering with industry to unlock that potential at scale."
Build Canada Homes is encouraging a range of industry players to apply, such as volumetric modular builders, panelized system manufacturers and design-build firms. Respondents are also asked to register in an upcoming public directory aimed at raising awareness about modern methods of construction.
The submission deadline for the RFI is March 5.
Build Canada Homes' aim to support housing innovation
As housing affordability in some of Canada’s largest cities has left many prospective homebuyers unable to afford to enter the market, or to comfortably afford rents, governments have stepped in to boost supply and encourage ways of quickly building more housing.
Build Canada Homes is one of those initiatives, launched in 2025 by the federal government with the mandate of supporting the build-out of affordable housing at scale.
Armed with $13 billion in capitalization, it has plans for projects such as the Direct Build initiative, a strategy to fast-track development on six Canada Lands Company sites using a direct-build model. On those properties, Build Canada Homes looks to prioritize innovative construction methods.
At the Toronto Real Estate Forum last December, Bailão said during a presentation Build Canada Homes aims to be an industry partner with both for-profits and non-profits to catalyze the “industrialization of how we build housing.”
With the funding the agency could provide, such as loans and grants, the objective is to create a project pipeline and de-risk the endeavours. Some, such as factories that build homes with the help of robots and artificial intelligence to output faster than human workers, are not widely used by the Canadian homebuilding industry and remain on the fringe.
Build Canada Homes is also prepared to work with the Canadian government on overturning barriers to manufactured housing, Bailão said at the forum.
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