BCH Modular
Charles Song
4 min read
Governmental Plan
Introduction
Build Canada Homes — the federal housing delivery agency launched with $13 billion in capitalization — has moved from policy to procurement. In January 2026, it issued Requests for Qualifications for six Direct Build sites on federal lands across Canada, with modular and factory-built methods explicitly prioritized as the primary delivery approach. This is the first time the federal government has directly procured housing construction at this scale, and the signals it sends to the OSC industry are significant.
Introduction
Build Canada Homes — the federal housing delivery agency launched with $13 billion in capitalization — has moved from policy to procurement. In January 2026, it issued Requests for Qualifications for six Direct Build sites on federal lands across Canada, with modular and factory-built methods explicitly prioritized as the primary delivery approach. This is the first time the federal government has directly procured housing construction at this scale, and the signals it sends to the OSC industry are significant.
The federal government is not just funding modular housing. It is building it.
The federal government is not just funding modular housing. It is building it.
1. What Build Canada Homes Is
Build Canada Homes is a federal housing delivery agency created specifically to accelerate housing supply across Canada — with factory-built and modular construction embedded as a core delivery strategy from day one.
Capitalized with $13 billion in federal funding
Mandate to deliver affordable housing at national scale
Modular and OSC methods prioritized as primary delivery approach
$1 billion in equity investments earmarked for Canadian prefab manufacturers
Bulk purchasing model designed to create sustained manufacturer demand
💡 Key point: Build Canada Homes is not a funding program — it is an operational agency with a mandate to directly deliver housing. That distinction matters enormously for the OSC industry.
2. First Direct Build Sites
Build Canada Homes issued Requests for Qualifications for six Direct Build sites on federal lands, fast-tracking construction that prioritizes modular and factory-built methods — including a 540-home development in Toronto and projects in Winnipeg, with at least 40% of units designated as affordable.
Six Direct Build RFQs issued simultaneously on federal lands
540-home development in Toronto — one of Canada's largest single modular procurements
Projects in Winnipeg with comparable scale and affordability requirements
At least 40% of units designated as affordable across all sites
Modular and factory-built methods explicitly prioritized in procurement criteria
💡 Key point: Prioritizing modular in federal procurement criteria sets a national standard — and signals to developers and municipalities that OSC is the expected delivery method, not an alternative one.
3. What Comes Next
Looking ahead, Build Canada Homes will move from planning to construction in 2026 — breaking ground on Direct Build sites, expanding partnerships with provinces and municipalities, and accelerating the delivery of thousands of affordable homes.
Ground-breaking on Direct Build sites across Canada in 2026
Expanding provincial and municipal partnership program
National modular RFI responses being used to shape future prequalification process
Sustained bulk orders designed to give manufacturers the demand certainty to scale
💡 Key point: The 2026 construction pipeline is the demand signal the Canadian OSC industry has been waiting for — consistent, large-scale, government-backed volume that justifies factory investment and workforce expansion.
1. What Build Canada Homes Is
Build Canada Homes is a federal housing delivery agency created specifically to accelerate housing supply across Canada — with factory-built and modular construction embedded as a core delivery strategy from day one.
Capitalized with $13 billion in federal funding
Mandate to deliver affordable housing at national scale
Modular and OSC methods prioritized as primary delivery approach
$1 billion in equity investments earmarked for Canadian prefab manufacturers
Bulk purchasing model designed to create sustained manufacturer demand
💡 Key point: Build Canada Homes is not a funding program — it is an operational agency with a mandate to directly deliver housing. That distinction matters enormously for the OSC industry.
2. First Direct Build Sites
Build Canada Homes issued Requests for Qualifications for six Direct Build sites on federal lands, fast-tracking construction that prioritizes modular and factory-built methods — including a 540-home development in Toronto and projects in Winnipeg, with at least 40% of units designated as affordable.
Six Direct Build RFQs issued simultaneously on federal lands
540-home development in Toronto — one of Canada's largest single modular procurements
Projects in Winnipeg with comparable scale and affordability requirements
At least 40% of units designated as affordable across all sites
Modular and factory-built methods explicitly prioritized in procurement criteria
💡 Key point: Prioritizing modular in federal procurement criteria sets a national standard — and signals to developers and municipalities that OSC is the expected delivery method, not an alternative one.
3. What Comes Next
Looking ahead, Build Canada Homes will move from planning to construction in 2026 — breaking ground on Direct Build sites, expanding partnerships with provinces and municipalities, and accelerating the delivery of thousands of affordable homes.
Ground-breaking on Direct Build sites across Canada in 2026
Expanding provincial and municipal partnership program
National modular RFI responses being used to shape future prequalification process
Sustained bulk orders designed to give manufacturers the demand certainty to scale
💡 Key point: The 2026 construction pipeline is the demand signal the Canadian OSC industry has been waiting for — consistent, large-scale, government-backed volume that justifies factory investment and workforce expansion.
Conclusion
Build Canada Homes' first Direct Build RFQs mark the transition from policy ambition to construction reality. With modular and factory-built methods explicitly prioritized across six federal sites, the program validates what the OSC industry has long argued — that standardized, factory-controlled delivery is the most effective way to deliver affordable housing at scale. For BC's development community, the national precedent being set by Build Canada Homes directly strengthens the case for OSC adoption on every project type, from municipal social housing to institutional and private residential delivery.
