Canada's Housing Blueprint: Belleville Adopts a Modern Post-War Plan

BELLEVILLE, ON – June 29, 2026 – In a move that echoes Canada’s ambitious post-war building boom, the City of Belleville has partnered with the federal government to tackle the modern housing crisis head-on. The city announced today it will become an official Local Partner in the federal Housing Design Catalogue initiative, a program designed to cut red tape and accelerate home construction through standardized, pre-approved plans.

The announcement, made by Bay of Quinte MP Chris Malette and Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis, marks a significant step in a national strategy to make housing more affordable and accessible. By pre-reviewing designs from the catalogue, Belleville aims to streamline its local approval process, making it faster and cheaper for builders and homeowners to add much-needed housing supply.

"Today, as partners, we're building a stronger Canada," said Chris Malette, Member of Parliament for Bay of Quinte. "Looking around me, I know that while each of us has different solutions to share, we share the same goal: to increase residential construction and ensure that everyone in Canada has a place to live."

Mayor Neil Ellis echoed the sentiment, highlighting the collaborative nature of the solution. "The City of Belleville is proud to support the Government of Canada's Housing Design Catalogue as an important tool to help accelerate housing construction," he stated. "By working together with our federal partners, we can help streamline the process of building more homes, increase the supply of affordable housing and support the long-term growth of communities across our region."

A National Blueprint for Faster Homes

At the heart of this strategy is the Housing Design Catalogue, a library of over 50 free, pre-approved low-rise housing plans developed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Launched in late 2023 with full technical packages released in October 2025, the catalogue is the federal government’s bold answer to a housing market crippled by high costs, labour shortages, and bureaucratic delays.

The catalogue is more than just a collection of drawings; it's a strategic intervention aimed at standardizing a fragmented industry. The designs—which include everything from accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and rowhouses to small multiplexes—are intended to promote "gentle density" in existing neighbourhoods. By providing ready-to-use architectural and engineering plans, the government hopes to lower the barrier to entry for smaller builders, stimulate innovation in construction methods like prefabrication, and ultimately double the rate of new home construction.

Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. A "What We Heard Report" from the summer of 2024 noted "consistent enthusiasm" from across the housing sector. The designs themselves were developed by regional architecture and engineering teams to account for local building codes, climate conditions, and materials, addressing concerns of a one-size-fits-all approach. These technical packages are comprehensive, including energy performance reports, accessibility options, and guidance on climate resilience, offering a sophisticated toolkit rather than a rigid mandate.

Belleville's Proactive Playbook

While the federal catalogue provides the blueprint, its success hinges on local implementation. Belleville stands out not just for adopting the program, but for integrating it into a broader, multi-faceted local strategy. The city isn’t simply waiting for developers to use the federal designs; it is proactively pre-reviewing them to guarantee a faster path through municipal approvals.

This move is part of a wider effort funded by a $10.5 million agreement through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). That investment is projected to fast-track 259 homes over the next three years and spur the creation of over 10,500 homes in the coming decade. The HAF funding has empowered Belleville to modernize its own rulebook, including a landmark zoning reform that permits up to four units "as-of-right" on most residential lots.

Furthermore, the city has developed its own pre-approved plans for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), providing residents with yet another streamlined option to add density. By combining federal tools with local initiative, Belleville is creating a layered approach that offers builders and homeowners a menu of choices to speed up development. This "concierge service" model for missing middle and affordable housing projects is precisely the kind of system-level innovation needed to move the needle.

Lessons from a Bygone Era

This new push for standardization is not without historical precedent. The federal government is explicitly drawing inspiration from the CMHC’s own post-war housing catalogues, which were instrumental in addressing the housing shortage for returning veterans between the 1940s and 1970s. Those catalogues of simple, efficient designs for "Victory Homes" and "strawberry box houses" helped build over a million homes and effectively established Canada’s modern homebuilding industry.

The revival of this strategy signals a recognition that today's crisis, like the one 80 years ago, requires a coordinated, national effort that prioritizes speed and scale. While the designs have evolved—today’s plans emphasize energy efficiency, accessibility, and low-carbon materials—the underlying principle remains the same: standardization can unlock efficiency and make good design accessible to the masses. The question is whether a solution born of post-war necessity can be adapted to the complexities of 21st-century markets and communities.

An Ecosystem of Acceleration

Belleville is the latest, but far from the only, municipality to join this movement. It joins dozens of other Local Partners, including Kitchener and Mississauga in Ontario, Burnaby in British Columbia, and Yarmouth in Nova Scotia, which also announced its partnership today. This growing network of cities signals a ground-level acceptance of the need for systemic change.

The federal government is reinforcing this trend with powerful financial incentives. Access to the new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) is conditional on provinces and territories supporting the adoption of standardized designs from the catalogue. This strategic linkage creates a compelling reason for all levels of government to align their efforts.

This initiative is also a cornerstone for the newly formed "Build Canada Homes" agency. Established in September 2025 and supported by the Build Canada Homes Act (Bill C-20), the agency is tasked with building and financing affordable housing at scale, often on federal public lands. The Housing Design Catalogue will be a primary tool in its arsenal, enabling bulk procurement of materials and the use of modern construction methods. This integrated approach, from design standardization to direct public development, represents one of the most significant shifts in Canadian housing policy in a generation, turning a series of disparate programs into a cohesive national strategy.