The former CMHC chief will steer the new Crown corporation's board as it moves to full operations
The federal government has appointed Evan Siddall as inaugural chair of the Build Canada Homes (BCH) board of directors, marking the first significant governance milestone since the agency's transition to a Crown corporation.
Housing Minister Gregor Robertson confirmed the appointment alongside BCH chief executive officer Ana Bailão, who said Siddall's arrival would provide "the governance foundations needed to advance its mandate."
The Build Canada Homes Act received royal assent on June 18, formally establishing BCH as an independent Crown corporation. Under its transitional provisions, Siddall will hold the board's full powers until at least eight directors are appointed — a process the government says is underway.
A return to federal housing policy
Siddall headed Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) from January 2014 to April 2021, a period during which he helped design Canada's first National Housing Strategy and more than 30 federal housing programs, according to the Government of Canada.
Key programs introduced under his leadership included the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and the Rental Construction Financing Initiative.
After leaving CMHC, he led the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) as CEO from 2021 to 2024, then joined BMO Capital Markets as vice-chair.
He also served as a special adviser to Prime Minister Mark Carney during Carney's time as governor of the Bank of Canada.
For brokers who have been following what they need to know about the Build Canada Homes program, this appointment completes the first critical governance step since BCH launched in September 2025 as a special operating agency within Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC).
The agency has since committed to nearly 17,000 units through 17 partnerships nationally, with more than 1,900 homes already under construction, according to government figures.
Execution now in focus
BCH's mandate centres on non-market housing, channelling contributions, loans, and loan guarantees to non-profits, co-operatives, and Indigenous housing providers. Its stated goal of doubling Canada's homebuilding rate and reducing homelessness has attracted scrutiny in equal measure.
Early questions about the agency's strategic direction and accountability were raised by the Fraser Institute, whose researchers argued that BCH's overlapping mandates risk undermining cost-effective affordable delivery at the scale the housing crisis demands.
That execution pressure is acute. Canada's housing starts trended at an annualised pace of 248,123 units through the first half of 2026. That's less than 58% of the 430,000 to 480,000 units CMHC estimates the country needs annually to restore affordability.
An economist previously cautioned that "we have yet to see the full strategic vision of what that looks like," noting that major policy shifts of this scale take years to produce measurable results.
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