Let’s start with the basics. The Housing Supply Act is the provincial government’s way of addressing BC’s ongoing housing shortage. In plain terms, they’re telling cities, including Chilliwack, to build more homes. And they’re not being subtle about it. For Chilliwack, the mandate says we need to be building around 919 new housing units per year between 2024 and 2029—that’s about 4,594 homes over five years.

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s a lot of houses! Why are they pushing so hard?” It’s because we’re in the middle of a housing affordability crisis. Simply put, there aren’t enough homes for the people who want or need them, and that’s driving prices through the roof. The government wants to get more homes built, faster, to help ease that pressure.