The Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA) is drawing on DCC’s expertise to meet a new and ambitious goal: to build 668 units and renovate 638 existing units at Canadian Armed Forces locations across the country by 2030.
In 2023, DCC and the CFHA were working on a 10-year plan to deliver housing. Then, in April 2024, the Government of Canada released its new defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free, which increased the investment in housing projects to support the men and women of the CAF to over $1.4 billion over 20 years. As a result, the CFHA wanted 668 new residential housing units built across Canada quickly, a solid start toward the goal of building 1,400 new units over 20 years.
These new housing projects should help the Canadian Armed Forces attract and retain talent, while also reducing housing demand in surrounding communities.
By December 2024, the CFHA and DCC had already developed and tendered three modified design-build (MDB) projects simultaneously, to deliver 360 of the new units. The homes—which will include apartments and semi-detached units—will be built on four sites in Esquimalt, British Columbia; two in Gagetown, New Brunswick; and multiple locations in Petawawa, Kingston and Borden, Ontario.
The MDB approach and the size and complexity of the projects are new to the CFHA. As a result, the Agency is leveraging DCC’s longstanding expertise in delivering large infrastructure projects. For instance, DCC is used to working with multiple partners to coordinate tasks and the many activities needed to deliver complex projects.
“Our staff in each region are able to advise the Client-Partner on the steps required to plan and deliver larger projects, including fostering connections within the Department of National Defence and the local communities,” says Michael Palmer, DCC’s Manager, National Programs. DCC’s multi-regional team has also developed common statements of work for all the projects and shared ideas across regions, further streamlining the process.
“DCC is proud to help the CFHA carry out this complex and important initiative,” says Michael.