Greater Victoria candidates urge BC parties to restore affordable housing fund

A group of municipal candidates from Victoria and Saanich have called on all provincial parties to commit to restoring the Community Housing Fund as part of their election platforms. 

The candidates involved are Saanich mayoral candidate Zac de Vries, Saanich council candidate Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Victoria For All slate council candidates Peter Rosse Gibbs and Susan Kim. 

Together, these candidates believe the Community Housing Fund has been one of BC’s most effective tools for delivering affordable housing and helping communities respond to the housing crisis.

The Community Housing Fund is a provincial funding initiative created by BC Housing in 2018. 

The initiative aimed to support the development and operation of mixed-income rental housing for low- and moderate-income families, seniors, individuals and people with disabilities. 

The fund was originally designed as a $3.3-billion program, but the province indefinitely postponed and suspended the Community Housing Fund in May 2025 following a $1.4-billion reallocation within its housing strategies.

“People in Victoria need homes they can actually afford, and municipal governments can’t solve this crisis on their own,” said Susan Kim, Victoria council candidate. 

“Without provincial investment, affordable housing projects slow down. We can’t afford to lose that momentum.”

The Community Housing Fund has helped non-profit, co-operative and public housing providers bring new affordable rental housing into communities across BC. 

In Greater Victoria, the fund has delivered 478 affordable rental homes, which are either open or underway. This includes 158 in Victoria and hundreds more in neighbouring municipalities.

Throughout the province, over 13,000 affordable rental homes have been developed in communities that needed long-term solutions to the housing crisis. 

According to the municipal candidates, local governments in the region are doing what they can to build more housing, but affordable and non-market housing projects still depend on provincial support. 

If the Community Housing Fund is not restored, it will have a serious impact on how many affordable homes are able to be built. 

“The Province cannot set housing targets that include affordable units with one hand and pull away one of the main tools for delivering affordable housing with the other,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Saanich council candidate. 

“Municipalities can update zoning, expedite approvals, reduce fees and offer land, but deeply affordable housing also requires serious provincial investment.”

Phelps Bondaroff, Kim, Gibbs and de Vries are now urging all provincial parties to commit to restoring the Community Housing Fund if elected so housing providers can continue developing homes for those who need affordable housing. 

“Housing is about more than buildings. It’s about whether people can stay in the communities they love, raise their families here, and have a secure place to call home,” said Gibbs, Victoria council candidate. 

“The Community Housing Fund is one of the programs that actually delivers affordable housing. If we’re serious about tackling the housing crisis, restoring it should be an easy commitment for every party seeking government.”

Of the major political parties, the BC Green Party is the only group who have announced that if elected, they would commit to restoring the Community Housing Fund.