Select municipalities in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Greater Victoria, and the interior are amongst the first 10 municipal jurisdictions that will be subject to the Government of British Columbia’s new Housing Supply Act. BC Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon made the announcement Wednesday morning, marking the first big step on the legislation since it was introduced in late 2022.

"We selected these municipalities from an objective, thorough, and measured process that factored in housing availability, affordability, and unrealized potential in delivering more homes for people,” said Kahlon during the press conference. “Today, we’re taking another important step on the path to achieving our goal for achieving more housing where it’s needed most, and providing a diversity of options so that people can stay in their communities as their housing needs evolve.” The final quotas for each of these jurisdictions will be publicly released this summer, he says. Ministry staff will meet with the selected municipalities over the coming weeks, and provide them with a 30-day window to assess the targets before making the targets public. Progress updates with the municipalities will be conducted every six months.

Kahlon notes the targets will be more than just units, such as the inclusion of prescriptions for targets on multi-bedroom housing suitable for families. He says where municipal governments have a choice is determining how to accommodate that growth, suggesting there will be some policy shifts soon in the communities. “We need all communities to be participating in the work, and I expect most communities will be cooperating fully with us,” said Kahlon. To aid cities in expediting permitting, Kahlon reiterated the measures the provincial government has put in place, such as providing funding to municipal governments to come up with their new and improved digital permitting processes.