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The District of Squamish approved 434 residential unit building permits in 2025, according to the annual housing report coming before council tomorrow, March 24.
The report shows the district almost met its first-year provincial Housing Target Order (HTO) in just half the time allotted. Of the 160 net new home completions required in the first year of the provincial target, the district delivered 153 in the first six months, a figure staff expect will be fully met by year end. 34 of the 153 unit completions were considered below market. While this is encouraging, the provincial HTO ramps up over time, with the year five target at 299 unit completions.
However, the district is behind on its federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) commitments. Under the agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Squamish is cumulatively 286 units short on housing starts. To satisfy the federal agreement before it expires on January 11, 2027, the district would need to issue permits for 890 units; there are currently 808 under review. The report shows townhouses and apartments with the longest application times at 12 and 13 months respectively.
This shortfall is despite significant policy changes in recent years to align with the HAF agreement. Changes include pre-zoning all residential land for affordable housing at higher densities, waiving development permit requirements for projects of four units or fewer, and hiring additional permitting staff using HAF dollars. Of the HAF commitments, all but one milestone has now been marked complete, with only the integration of infrastructure recommendations into the capital planning budget still underway.
Staff said in the report that Squamish’s situation mirrors national trends, where a growing share of approved projects are not moving forward to construction, as rising construction and land costs outpace what developers can recoup through sale prices.
The shortfall could affect future funding. Two HAF grant disbursements remain, one in early spring 2026 and one in 2027, and the CMHC agreement is partially tied to housing start performance. Staff noted that CMHC has not yet provided detail on how the gap may affect those payments.
Separately, the province cancelled its Community Housing Fund program, leaving a planned 100-unit affordable housing build on Government Road, in partnership between the Squamish Community Housing Society and BC Housing, up in the air.
