A major Canada–B.C. housing and infrastructure agreement names Terrace and Prince Rupert as priority communities — but the real test will be whether Northwest B.C. receives shovel-ready money, not just political promises.
TERRACE — Prime Minister Mark Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby have announced a major housing and infrastructure partnership aimed at accelerating homebuilding, lowering construction costs, and supporting local infrastructure across British Columbia.
The agreement is being promoted as a more-than-$5-billion, 10-year partnership between Ottawa and Victoria. It includes money for development charge relief, housing-enabling infrastructure, public transit, health infrastructure, and a new condo-conversion program through Build Canada Homes and BC Housing.
For Northwest B.C., the most important line in the announcement is not the biggest dollar figure. It is a smaller but more targeted commitment: up to $50 million over five years for coastal community infrastructure projects, with priority given to Terrace and Prince Rupert.
That single line could matter deeply for the Skeena region.
But it also raises a serious question: will this deal actually help Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers, Hazelton, Burns Lake, Houston, Stewart, Port Edward, and nearby First Nations communities — or will most of the benefit flow south to Metro Vancouver and larger urban centres?
What Ottawa and B.C. announced
The federal government says the agreement will support homebuilding by lowering development charges on multi-unit housing projects by up to 50%. Ottawa is committing nearly $1.6 billion over 10 years, with B.C. expected to match that amount, creating up to $3.2 billion in joint support.
The goal is to reduce upfront costs for apartments, townhouses, and other multi-unit housing. Federal and provincial officials say the savings could reach up to $40,000 per unit in some communities.
The agreement also includes:
- up to $50 million over five years for coastal community infrastructure, with priority for Terrace and Prince Rupert;
- $2.5 billion over 10 years through the Canada Public Transit Fund;
- more than $600 million over three years in federal health infrastructure funding, to be matched by B.C.;
- a one-time $284-million transfer to B.C. to reduce barriers to new construction;
- a condo-conversion partnership to turn more than 2,200 vacant condo units into affordable homes.
On paper, this is a major housing and infrastructure package. But for Northwest B.C., the impact depends heavily on how the programs are designed, who can apply, and whether smaller northern municipalities have the staff, engineering plans, and matching funds needed to compete.
Terrace may be better positioned than other northern communities
Terrace could be one of the clearest Northwest B.C. beneficiaries because the city already has a development cost charge system.
Development cost charges, often called DCCs, are fees collected from developers to help pay for growth-related infrastructure such as water, sewer, roads, drainage, and parks. Terrace adopted its DCC bylaw in 2021, and the city has identified infrastructure needs including sanitary sewer capacity and the Halliwell reservoir.
That matters because the headline housing tool in the Carney-Eby agreement is built around reducing DCCs on multi-unit housing.
In simple terms, Terrace has fees that can potentially be reduced and backfilled through senior government support. That could help make apartment and townhouse projects more financially viable while still protecting the city’s infrastructure reserves.
For Terrace, the opportunity is not only cheaper fees. It is the possibility of combining DCC relief with direct infrastructure funding for water and sewer systems that must be upgraded before serious housing growth can happen.
This could become especially important as regional industrial projects continue placing pressure on housing, rentals, hotels, roads, and services.
Prince Rupert’s issue is not developer fees — it is basic infrastructure
Prince Rupert faces a very different problem.
The city’s own housing needs reporting shows a serious housing gap, with hundreds of new units needed over the next five years and more than one thousand over the next two decades. The city has also lost housing units in recent years through demolition, disrepair, and fire.
But Prince Rupert’s biggest housing barrier is not simply the cost of permits or development fees. It is the city’s aging water, sewer, and core infrastructure.
If pipes, roads, and sewage systems cannot support new development, then housing cannot be built at the scale required.
That is why the $50-million coastal infrastructure commitment matters. Prince Rupert is explicitly named as a priority community. If the city can connect the new funding to water, sewer, and housing-enabling infrastructure, the deal could become meaningful.
But there is no guarantee that Prince Rupert will receive a fixed amount. “Priority” does not automatically mean the money is already in the city’s bank account. The city will likely need clear applications, strong engineering plans, and direct pressure on both Victoria and Ottawa.
For Prince Rupert residents, the question is simple: how much of the $50 million will actually reach the city, and how quickly?
Kitimat could be left outside the main housing tool
Kitimat is one of the most important industrial communities in British Columbia. LNG Canada, Rio Tinto, port-related activity, contractors, and industrial maintenance work all place pressure on housing.
But Kitimat may not benefit much from the main development charge relief program if the district does not rely on the same DCC structure as larger urban municipalities.
That is the structural problem with the announcement. A tool designed around lowering development charges works best in places where development charges are high. In many northern communities, the bigger barriers are not municipal fees. They are construction costs, labour shortages, serviced land, financing, and limited rental stock.
For Kitimat, the best path may be direct infrastructure applications, BC Housing partnerships, worker housing strategies, and coordination with the Haisla Nation and major industrial employers.
Kitimat should not assume this deal will automatically solve its housing problem. The district will need to fight for a fair share through infrastructure streams, not just the DCC relief program.
Smithers, Houston, Burns Lake and Hazelton need different solutions
The Bulkley Valley and surrounding communities face housing challenges that look very different from Metro Vancouver.
Smithers has strong demand for rental housing, professional housing, and family housing. It serves as a regional service centre, but limited rental supply makes it harder to attract workers, health-care staff, teachers, and service employees.
Houston faces a different challenge tied to economic transition, aging housing stock, and the difficulty of making new builds financially viable in a smaller market.
Burns Lake needs more diverse housing, including multi-family rental options and accessible homes for seniors. Hazelton and New Hazelton face high construction costs, aging housing, limited rental supply, and major needs connected to surrounding First Nations and rural communities.
For these towns, cutting development charges may not be enough. In some cases, it may barely matter.
The more useful funding would be direct money for water, sewer, roads, serviced land, non-profit housing, seniors housing, and Indigenous-led housing.
That means local governments need to move quickly. They need updated housing needs reports, shovel-ready projects, engineering plans, and regional partnerships.
Seniors housing must not be forgotten
One of the biggest overlooked housing issues in Northwest B.C. is seniors housing.
Many northern communities have aging residents living in homes that are too large, too expensive to maintain, or not physically accessible. When seniors cannot find suitable local housing, they may be forced to leave their home community for Terrace, Prince George, or the Lower Mainland.
Terrace has seen progress with new seniors housing connected to a mixed-use development that also includes youth wellness services. That model matters because it shows how housing, health, and community services can be combined in one project.
But many smaller communities do not have enough seniors housing, assisted living, or supportive housing. Stewart, Port Edward, Hazelton, Burns Lake, Houston, and even Kitimat all need more age-friendly options.
The Carney-Eby announcement includes health infrastructure funding and housing funding, but it does not automatically create new seniors homes in the Skeena region. Local governments, BC Housing, Northern Health, non-profits, and First Nations will need to work together to turn broad funding streams into real projects.
For residents, the question should be direct: will any of this money build seniors housing in our town, or is seniors housing only being mentioned as a political talking point?
Health infrastructure could matter, but details are missing
The agreement includes more than $600 million in federal health infrastructure funding over three years, with matching support from B.C.
That could matter for Northwest B.C., where health-care access is already stretched by geography, staffing shortages, travel distance, and aging facilities.
Terrace has the new Ksyen Regional Hospital, which is now the major hospital hub for much of the region. But health infrastructure needs remain in Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers, Hazelton, Burns Lake, and remote communities.
The key issue is whether Northern Health receives funding for actual upgrades in the Northwest, or whether most of the health infrastructure money flows to larger southern facilities.
Northwest B.C. residents should ask for a clear list of projects. Which hospitals, clinics, urgent care centres, long-term care facilities, and diagnostic services will benefit? How much will come north? When?
Without those answers, the health funding remains promising but uncertain.
Transit funding may not solve northern transportation gaps
The announcement includes $2.5 billion over 10 years through the Canada Public Transit Fund.
That sounds significant, but much of B.C.’s transit funding tends to be shaped by large urban systems and major projects. Northwest B.C.’s needs are different.
The Skeena region needs practical transportation: better local bus service, regional connections between Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert, transportation for seniors, medical travel support, weekend and evening service, and routes that match shift workers’ schedules.
A bus that does not run when workers need it does not solve a housing or affordability problem.
If the transit money only supports major southern routes, the Skeena region may see little change. If local governments push for regional transit improvements, however, the funding could help improve mobility and reduce pressure on people who cannot afford a vehicle.
First Nations must be central, not secondary
Any serious housing and infrastructure discussion in Northwest B.C. must include First Nations governments and Indigenous housing providers.
The region includes powerful and active Indigenous governments, including Tsimshian, Haisla, Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Wet’suwet’en and other communities connected to Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Hazelton, Smithers and the Nass Valley.
Housing needs do not stop at municipal boundaries. Many people move between reserve, treaty, municipal, and rural areas for work, school, health care and family reasons.
If the funding only flows through municipalities, it will miss a major part of the region’s housing reality.
The federal and provincial governments must clearly explain how First Nations can access the infrastructure and housing streams, including whether Indigenous-led housing, water systems, roads, elders housing, and off-reserve housing projects are eligible.
The condo conversion program appears mostly southern
One part of the announcement would convert more than 2,200 vacant condo units into affordable homes.
This may help in places where there are completed but unsold condo units. But it is unclear how much relevance this has for Northwest B.C.
Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Smithers, Burns Lake, Houston, Hazelton, Stewart and Port Edward are not facing a surplus of empty condo towers. They are facing a shortage of new rental construction, aging housing stock, limited serviced land, and high building costs.
Unless the province identifies eligible vacant condo inventory in the North, this part of the announcement appears unlikely to deliver much direct benefit to the Skeena region.
The real test, shovel-ready projects
The announcement gives Northwest B.C. an opening. But an opening is not the same as a cheque.
Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers, Houston, Burns Lake, Hazelton, Stewart, Port Edward, regional districts, and First Nations should now be preparing specific project lists.
The strongest projects will likely be those that clearly connect infrastructure to new housing. That means water lines, sewer capacity, roads, storm drainage, serviced land, seniors housing, affordable rental housing, and community infrastructure that unlocks real units.
Local councils should not wait for Ottawa or Victoria to call. They should be asking now:
How much money is available?
Who can apply?
What projects are eligible?
Is funding guaranteed or competitive?
Will small northern communities need matching funds?
Can First Nations apply directly?
Can regional districts apply?
Can seniors housing and health infrastructure be included?
When do applications open?
What projects are already shovel-ready?
A northern opportunity — but not yet a northern win
The Carney-Eby housing deal is significant. It could help B.C. build more homes. It could lower some upfront development costs. It could fund the infrastructure that communities need before new housing can be built.
But for the Skeena region, the announcement is not automatically a win.
Terrace may be well positioned because it has an active DCC system and clear infrastructure needs. Prince Rupert has a strong case because it is directly named and faces urgent water, sewer, and housing pressures. Kitimat must make sure it is not left out simply because its housing barriers do not fit the government’s preferred policy tool.
Smaller communities such as Smithers, Houston, Burns Lake, Hazelton, Stewart and Port Edward will need direct infrastructure support, not just fee reductions designed for larger urban markets.
The key question for Northwest B.C. is not whether the announcement sounds good.
The key question is whether the money will actually reach the North.
Until Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat and surrounding communities receive clear project commitments, the Skeena region should treat this as a major opportunity — but not yet a delivered result.
Questions Skeena News will be watching
- How much of the $50-million coastal infrastructure fund will go to Terrace and Prince Rupert?
- Will Kitimat qualify for direct infrastructure funding even if DCC relief does not fit its local system?
- Will smaller towns such as Smithers, Houston, Burns Lake, Hazelton, Stewart and Port Edward receive any direct benefit?
- Will First Nations governments and Indigenous housing providers be able to apply directly?
- Will seniors housing be funded anywhere in Northwest B.C.?
- Will Northern Health receive money for Northwest hospitals, clinics, long-term care or urgent care?
- Will transit funding improve regional travel between Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert?
- Will the province publish a full list of approved projects and funding amounts?
- Will local municipalities need to provide matching funds?
- Will this become real construction — or remain another large announcement with limited northern delivery?
