Squamish Adopts Federal Housing Designs to Fast-Track Affordability

SQUAMISH, BC – June 29, 2026 – The District of Squamish is taking a significant step to address its acute housing crisis by partnering with the federal government to adopt the national Housing Design Catalogue. The announcement, made today by local officials and federal representatives, marks Squamish as the latest Canadian municipality to leverage this innovative tool designed to accelerate the construction of affordable homes.

This partnership will see Squamish actively promote and streamline the approval process for a selection of pre-approved housing plans, making it faster, cheaper, and easier for builders and homeowners to develop diverse housing options. The initiative is a key part of Canada's broader strategy to tackle the national housing shortage by standardizing designs and cutting bureaucratic delays.

“Communities like Squamish are stepping up with innovative approaches to tackle the housing crisis and help build the homes people need,” said Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. “The Housing Design Catalogue is about cutting unnecessary delays and making it easier to build more homes, faster. By streamlining approvals and supporting appropriate density in existing neighbourhoods, we can create more housing options while building complete communities where people can afford to live, work, and raise a family.”

For Squamish, a community where the average home price exceeds $1 million and the rental vacancy rate is critically low at under 1%, the need for such solutions is urgent. The partnership aims to directly address the shortage of “missing middle” housing—options like duplexes and fourplexes that serve residents who earn too much for subsidized housing but are priced out of the current market.

“Squamish is proud to join communities across Canada in advancing practical, housing solutions that aim to make housing more attainable,” stated Armand Hurford, Mayor of the District of Squamish. “By pre-reviewing and promoting three designs in the Housing Design Catalogue, we aim to take some of the guess work out of planning, providing a smoother path to creative housing solutions. This partnership strengthens the work already underway in Squamish to diversify our housing options and deliver the kinds of homes our residents need.”

A Local Blueprint for Faster Building

Squamish’s adoption of the Housing Design Catalogue is not a standalone measure but the latest move in a concerted, multi-year effort to reform its housing landscape. The District has already established itself as a leader in housing innovation, having previously leveraged the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to update zoning bylaws, reduce parking requirements, and waive development fees for affordable housing projects.

In 2024, the District hosted a successful Multiplex Design Competition, which generated a library of pre-reviewed designs tailored to local conditions, including neighbourhood context and flood construction levels. The new federal partnership builds directly on this foundation. Squamish will add three specific plans from the national catalogue—the BC Duplex, BC Fourplex 01, and BC Fourplex 02—to its existing library of pre-vetted designs.

For builders and homeowners, this means that while a building permit is still required, projects using these designs will benefit from a streamlined review process. The pre-review by the District provides greater certainty from the outset, confirming that the designs align with local zoning and building codes. This proactive approach is expected to significantly reduce permit approval times and cut down on soft costs, such as architectural fees and redesign expenses, which can be a major barrier for small-scale developers.

Reviving a Post-War Idea for a Modern Crisis

The concept of a national housing design catalogue is not new; it’s a modern revival of a successful post-war strategy. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a federal Crown corporation with an 80-year history, first published design catalogues between the 1940s and 1970s. Created in 1946 to house returning war veterans and address a severe national housing shortage, the CMHC’s early catalogues provided standardized, efficient plans that helped fuel the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes across the country.

By drawing inspiration from this historical precedent, the federal government is applying a proven solution to today's housing affordability and supply crisis. Just as the post-war catalogues helped rapidly expand housing stock during a period of high immigration and economic growth, the new Housing Design Catalogue is engineered to accelerate construction in an era of similar pressures. The historical effort evolved over decades to address changing needs, from housing quality to urban renewal, and that adaptability is reflected in the current catalogue's focus on regional diversity, energy efficiency, and accessibility.

A National Push for Standardized Homes

While Squamish's partnership is a local success story, it is part of a much larger national vision. The Housing Design Catalogue, which launched its full technical packages in October 2025, now contains over 50 free-to-use, pre-approved plans for low-rise buildings like duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units. These plans were developed by regional architecture and engineering teams to account for different building codes, climates, and materials across Canada.

The initiative has already gained significant traction nationwide, with dozens of municipalities signing on as Local Partners and the catalogue's technical drawings being downloaded over 17,000 times. This widespread interest signals a strong appetite within the construction industry and among local governments for solutions that simplify the development process.

The broader economic promise of standardization is substantial. By providing a common set of high-quality designs, the federal government aims to foster a more productive homebuilding industry, strengthen Canadian supply chains for building materials, and create stable, good-paying jobs. The catalogue is a key pillar of a comprehensive federal housing strategy that also includes the Housing Accelerator Fund and the new Build Canada Homes agency, all working in concert to double the rate of new home construction.

For homeowners and builders in communities like Squamish, the benefits are tangible. The catalogue provides access to professionally designed, code-compliant plans at no cost, democratizing the development process. It removes much of the risk and uncertainty associated with new construction, particularly for infill projects that add “gentle density” to existing neighbourhoods. This collaborative effort between federal and municipal governments represents a coordinated and practical strategy to ensure more Canadians can find a place to call home.