Canada Lands Company (CLC) was created decades ago to help the federal government make better use of its real estate, but its role may be expanding to address today’s housing crisis.
Established in 1956 as the Public Works Lands Company Limited, the Crown corporation was reactivated when the federal government inherited a significant real estate portfolio — which also included the CN Tower — following the privatization of CN Rail in 1995.
“The government decided to do a kind of pilot project to see how they could reintegrate those properties back into the community, while maximizing their social impact,” says CLC President and CEO Stéphan Déry. “Then in the early 2000s, the government updated its real estate process to ensure CLC acquired sites where it could make a strong impact.”
Over the past 30 years, CLC has been called upon by the federal government to acquire its underutilized real estate — from industrial port lands to decommissioned military bases — and convert it into something of community value.
Its Jericho Lands project, which was recently approved by Vancouver city council, will convert a 36-hectare (64 acre) former Department of National Defence site in the city’s west end into 13,000 affordable homes, alongside eight hectares (20 acres) of parks and four hectares (10 acres) of public spaces.
In Pointe de Longueuil in Montreal’s north end, CLC is turning a 23-hectare (57 acre) former industrial site along the St. Lawrence into a waterfront community of 5,000 homes, including 1,000 affordable rentals, alongside 900,000 square feet of park land.
But its biggest and most ambitious project is Toronto’s Downsview Park, where CLC is converting the former Canadian Forces military base into a city within a city, alongside Northcrest Developments.
The 30-year development project will add about 22,000 homes for 38,000 residents across 109-hectares (270 acres), with the first phase, Arbo, set to add 1,400 homes near the corner of Sheppard Ave. and Keele St. after receiving city approval in December.
CLC also owns and operates the Montreal Science Centre, the Old Port of Montreal, many of the existing recreational facilities at Downsview Park, and the CN Tower.
Last week the organization faced criticism after locking out 250 CN Tower food and hospitality workers just before Canada Day as part of an ongoing labour dispute with Unifor. Canada Lands said the move was necessary after a strike was threatened by the union in order to maintain its food safety standards, but emphasized that the observation decks and other attractions remained open. The organization’s primary focus, however, is housing.
“Last year we enabled the building of 4,100 homes, of which 35 per cent were affordable,” Déry says. “We also made a commitment that we will enable the building of 49,000 homes in our existing portfolio by 2031, but if the federal government transfers more property to us, we could do a lot more.”
CLC’s role may be expanding as the country seeks to tackle its housing crisis. That’s because in its 2024 budget the federal government proposed giving the organization a series of new authorities to help it move faster.
The Star recently caught up with Déry from the company’s Vancouver office to talk about the Downsview project, how reclaimed federal lands are key to meeting Canada’s housing goals, and how CLC is uniquely positioned to help the country achieve those targets.
What is Canada Lands Company?
It existed before but Canada Lands Company was reactivated after the privatization of Canadian National Rail in 1995, when the government inherited a lot of property, including the CN Tower.
They could have sold the land to the highest bidder, but instead the government ran a kind of pilot project to see how they could reintegrate those properties back into the community, while maximizing their social impact.
The pilot was successful, and after a few years the government did a review of its surplus military bases across the country and ultimately sold about 2,000 acres to Canada Lands Company. Our job was to redevelop them into vibrant, mixed-use communities. That includes Downsview Park, but there are many from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada that we acquired over the years.
Then in the early 2000s the government updated its real estate process to ensure CLC acquired sites where it could make a strong impact.
Did you always want to work in real estate, and in the public sector?
Since childhood.
My dad was a general contractor, he used to build prefab homes growing up in Saint-Tite, Que., so I was always near construction sites. In the ‘90s we owned a small construction business together, and since I studied accounting, I managed the books.
I wanted to contribute as much as I could to the work I was doing, and I felt the best way to have an impact was through the public sector, which is why I did a master’s in public administration, and why I spent most of the last 30 years working in government.
Why have you remained in the public sector for most of your career?
For me it’s about the breadth and depth of what you can do, and the positive influence you can have.
By the time I started in this role in 2023, I had gained a lot of experience in real estate, in project management, and had spent a lot of time working with federal, provincial and municipal governments.
What happens once CLC acquires a new parcel of land?
Canada Lands Company is the first to look at federal property and decide whether we can add social, environmental or economic value.
Most of the property we get from the government is contaminated — they’ve been used as a military base or a former manufacturing site — and we have to ensure its safe for redevelopment.
Then we buy the property at market value from the government of Canada, and once its transferred to us we work with municipalities on zoning, and do public consultations with the community to make sure we’re addressing their needs.
Then we have an open bidding process where developers can submit proposals to lease the land for projects that meet those objectives.
Do you return a profit to the government?
Last year we declared a dividend of $20 million.
We’re an arm’s-length Crown corporation; we only have one shareholder, and that’s the federal government.
We are self-funded, and every year the government issues what’s called a “letter of expectations” outlining what it wants Canada Lands to focus on, and sometimes its financial returns, but not always.
What’s your current priority?
Our most recent letter of expectations, which was sent by the Trudeau government last year, made building more affordable housing faster the main objective.
In fact, every Crown corporation gets a ministerial letter of expectations, but last year mine was one of the only ones that was made public, because of the housing crisis.
In the 2024 federal budget, they also proposed a series of new authorities for Canada Lands Company.
For example, they proposed giving us the ability to buy property directly from other Crown corporations more easily.
We’re already working with Canada Post on acquiring some of their unused property. They have 3,500 buildings, including post offices in the middle of major cities.
In 2023 we committed to having a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing in all our projects, but with these proposed changes the federal government would have the option to sell us the land below market value so we can pass those savings on to the developer and increase our affordable-housing demands.
The budget also proposes letting us start working on projects while they’re in use by the government, like the parking lot next to a federal building, and transform underused government offices into multi-use properties.
It would also let us start working with municipalities on zoning approvals, community engagement and developing our plans before the land transfers to us, so that we’re able to build faster, instead of waiting to start that process.
Does the change in leadership change that mandate?
We still need confirmation, but Prime Minister Mark Carney talked about building 500,000 homes a year, and wanting to accelerate construction on federal land, so we’re hoping that they will be confirmed soon, so we can have an even bigger impact.
How will that effort affect Toronto?
In Toronto just our portion of the Downsview Park development can potentially add 22,000 homes, and if you add our colleagues at Northcrest it’s almost 46,000: that’s like a small city. It is the largest transit-oriented development in North America, and we’ve committed to 20 per cent affordable housing across our sites.
What’s the status of that project?
One of the first Downsview neighbourhoods we’re going to develop, Arbo at Sheppard and Keele, will be leased at nominal value in its first phase for construction of up to 305 units; at least 30 per cent will be affordable.
Arbo will have about 1,400 to 1,700 homes surrounded by a woodlot, and we’re also looking to build a big community centre. Next is Downsview West, where we’re looking to build 8,800 homes, predominately midrise, next to the Downsview Park TTC station and GO station.
The Park Commons where we already have sports facilities and a Centennial College campus has just been designated as institutional zoning, which allows us to add student housing.
Then there’s Downsview East, Downsview West and Allen Road, where it will take longer to develop the infrastructure required for housing. We’re into the planning stages for Downsview West with the city of Toronto, and we’ve offered Downsview East as a potential site for rapid housing.
Why can’t the free market solve the housing crisis on its own?
Even the private sector recognizes the need for public sector intervention to make the math work on a project.
For example, nobody wants to build condos in Toronto right now, and we need the federal government to help finance the construction of purpose-built rentals.
So, I think the government has a role to play in supporting the industry, especially in difficult times when the math doesn’t add up as easily.
