The City of Coquitlam has exceeded the first-year housing target set by the Province, reflecting the City’s longstanding leadership in enabling housing.
COQUITLAM, B.C., March 31, 2026 – The City of Coquitlam has exceeded the first-year housing target set by the Province, reflecting the City’s longstanding leadership in enabling housing.
This milestone was reached six months into the first reporting year. Between September 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026, a total of 1,032 net new housing units were completed in Coquitlam, surpassing the Province’s first-year target of 972 units.
As of December 31, 2025, the City had more than 11,800 approved housing units that have not yet applied for building permits, demonstrating that Coquitlam continues to approve significantly more housing than the market is currently delivering.
These results showcase Coquitlam’s proactive approach to planning policies, streamlined development processes and investments that support measured growth.
Regional Leader in Housing
Over the past six months, the City has continued to advance policies and initiatives designed to support housing delivery, including:
- Implementing provincially mandated changes, such as Transit-Oriented Areas and Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing
- Advancing a streamlined Interim Official Community Plan
- Introducing a Certified Professional Program to contribute towards improved permit service delivery and timelines
- Updating rental incentive policies for medium- and high-density development
- Establishing a Priority Review Policy for non-market housing projects
- Undertaking a Citywide Parking Review
The City continues to support affordable housing through the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, committing $3.83 million since April 2025, and is advancing plans for non-market housing on City-owned land.
While municipalities play a key role in approving housing, local governments cannot compel development to proceed.
Housing completions – the metric used by the Province to measure progress under the Housing Target Order – depend on decisions made by landowners and developers, as well as broader market conditions such as construction costs, financing availability and housing demand.
Many of the homes completed during the reporting period were approved by Council before the Housing Target Order was introduced.
Provincial Support Needed to Deliver Affordable Housing
The Province has also established guidelines encouraging municipalities to deliver significant levels of rental and below-market housing.
However, achieving these targets requires substantial funding from other levels of government.
Recent provincial budget decisions have reduced funding for affordable housing programs, including the elimination of the $3.3-billion Community Housing Fund, which previously helped deliver 560 affordable housing units in Coquitlam.
Based on provincial guidelines, delivering the target 2,252 below-market unit in Coquitlam would require an estimated $760 million to $1.2 billion in capital funding, even if land is provided at no cost.
Infrastructure Must Keep Pace with Growth
As one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the region, Coquitlam continues to call for stronger provincial investment in the infrastructure required to support housing and population growth.
Key priorities include:
- Health care: Coquitlam is the only B.C. municipality with more than 150,000 residents without a hospital or urgent care centre within its boundaries.
- Schools: More than $1.1 billion is required for new schools, additions and seismic upgrades over the next 10 years.
- Transit: Over $1.2 billion in regional transit capital funding is needed over the next 10 years to implement Coquitlam’s share of TransLink’s Access for Everyone Plan.
- Transportation: Major regional transportation investments are required, including the Brunette Interchange Upgrade Project.
- Child care: Approximately 6,700 new child care spaces are needed to meet community demand.
Continuing to Support Housing
The City will continue to work with the Province and other partners to support housing delivery and affordability.
Coquitlam’s next progress report under the Housing Target Order will be submitted following the completion of the first reporting year on August 31, 2026.
Media contact:
Renée de St. Croix
Director Urban Planning and Design
604-927-3430
devinfo@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.