EDMONTON, AB, Nov. 7, 2026 /CNW/ -- In an increasingly turbulent world, Canada is determining our future. We have the strength to build, the discipline to deliver, and the values to take care of each other.
Budget 2026 is the major next step of our ambitious, pragmatic, generational plan to make Canadians maîtres chez nous, building our sovereignty and giving us the freedom to live our lives as we choose. And being maîtres chez vous begins with a place to call your own.
Today the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) visited the King Thunderbird Centre in Edmonton to highlight Budget 2026's plan to end homelessness within 10 years. Backed by nearly $30 billion, this is an unprecedented federal initiative to tackle homelessness and ensure all Canadians can live in dignity and community.
For decades, governments, communities, and front-line organisations have grappled with homelessness, and their experience has shown what makes the biggest difference.
Homelessness is about more than a roof over one's head. It is about the help people rely on every day, the stability of a safe and affordable home, and the health care many need, including for mental health and addictions. For too long, these systems have operated apart, and not at the scale this crisis demands. Addressing these gaps requires close collaboration between federal, provincial, and territorial governments, alongside community partners. Budget 2026 challenges all partners to come together and deliver what we have learned works: help, housing, and health.
Help: reaching people early, and staying with them until they find a home
- $6.5 billion to renew and strengthen the Reaching Home Initiative and support for veteran homelessness. This funding supports community-led efforts to prevent homelessness, connect people with shelter and essential services, and help them find employment support and a permanent home. Communities will be expected to provide more consistent and timely data to measure the scale of homelessness and track progress in reducing it.
- $5.5 billion to renew the Canada Housing Benefit to provide direct monthly rental assistance to low-income Canadians, including survivors of gender-based violence, so they can pay their rent, keep their homes, and avoid becoming homeless.
Housing: a safe place to go, from transitional homes to deeply affordable ones
- $10 billion through Build Canada Homes to support the delivery of about 25,000 supportive and transitional homes across Canada. The federal government will fund construction, while provinces and territories fund operations and the services residents need to stay housed. This investment will grow as more partners step forward.
Health: care and a home, together under one roof
- $5 billion for a new Integrated Supports Fund, delivered through Build Canada Homes, to build facilities that bring together housing, health care, mental health and addictions treatment, and other social services, with public, private, and philanthropic partners. The model builds on the success of Toronto's Dunn House, where residents' emergency room visits have been cut in half.
- $2 billion for the Build Communities Strong Fund's Health Infrastructure Fund to build new community mental health and addictions treatment facilities and refurbish existing ones.
A home is more than a roof over someone's head. It is the foundation for good health, personal security, and the opportunity to build a better life. This is what it means to be maîtres chez nous: a sovereign Canada, where we take care of each other, where we create opportunities for all, and where we are free to live our lives as we choose.
Quotes
"A strong future for Canada requires having the right supports for our people. Housing is crucial to economic well-being and, more importantly, to a sense of security and belonging. Budget 2026 will help lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty, while putting Canada on a path to end homelessness, create more non-market housing, and build a housing market that works for everyone. Today's announcement is the first step in delivering that plan, helping build a healthier, more prosperous Canada, and truly making us masters of our destiny."
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue
"Everyone needs a safe place to call home. But for too many Canadians, finding and keeping that home also means navigating gaps in care and disconnected services. Here in Edmonton, the King Thunderbird Centre shows what is possible when housing, health care, and community supports come together. Budget 2026 builds on this approach with nearly $30 billion to help prevent and end homelessness. Working together with provinces, territories, and community partners, we can make sure these investments translate into real, lasting change in people's lives."
–The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan)
Quick facts
- Budget 2026 delivers a long-term housing strategy, providing nearly $45 billion on a cash basis over the next 11 years, putting Canada on a path to end homelessness within 10 years while expanding non-market housing and building a housing market that works for all.
- Budget 2026 delivers $1.2 billion in 2027-28 to extend mental health, addictions, and home and community care agreements will help more Canadians access the care they need regardless of their ability to pay.
- Through Budget 2026 an estimated 240,000 people will be lifted out of poverty through the new Build Canada Workers Benefit, keeping more money in workers' pockets.
- Budget 2026 gives Canadians a boost today and a bridge to tomorrow by providing targeted relief now while tackling the underlying drivers of rising costs through more housing, lower energy costs, stronger competition, and action to end homelessness within a decade.
- In 2024, the Government of Canada and Boyle Street Community Services announced a combined investment of more than $45 million to support the new okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre). The facility provides essential health and housing support services to Edmonton's vulnerable community.
Related products
- Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny
- News Release: Government of Canada releases Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny
- Backgrounder: Budget 2026: Key Measures
Associated links
- Government of Canada: Housing Insecurity
- Federal government and Boyle Street Community Services invest in vital community building in downtown Edmonton - Canada.ca
Stay connected
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Toll-free number: 1-888-338-9378
TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388
SOURCE Prairies Economic Development Canada
Contacts: Media Relations, Department of Finance Canada, mediare@fin.gc.ca, 613-369-4000; Evan Brick, Senior Communications, Advisor and Issues Manager, Office of the Hon. Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, evan.brick@ps-sp.gc.ca, 343-597-7279; Brennan Bunko, Senior Communications Advisor, Prairies Economic Development Canada, brennan.bunko@prairiescan.gc.ca, 587-338-3690
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