Horseshoe Lake project left in limbo
British Columbia’s Horseshoe Lake housing project has been left in limbo after BC Housing trimmed its 2026 budget, delaying a planned development. Local reporting frames the move as an example of pipeline execution risk despite high paper‑level supply ambition. (therockymountaingoat.com)
A planned 32-unit housing project on Horseshoe Lake Road in McBride is on hold after British Columbia pulled back housing spending in its 2026 budget. (therockymountaingoat.com) The McBride and District Housing Society pitched the project to village council on March 25, 2025, and said it would apply to British Columbia Housing for funding by the end of that month. Chair Jackie Edwards said the first phase would include 10 one-bedroom units, eight two-bedroom units and 14 three-bedroom units at 210 Horseshoe Lake Road. (therockymountaingoat.com) Edwards told council the project was aimed at seniors, families and people with disabilities, and that one-third of the units would rent at market rates while the rest would be income-based. The society also had an agreement in principle with the Village of McBride for five acres of land. (therockymountaingoat.com) The delay lands as the province says it is still building homes but at a slower pace. British Columbia’s 2026 budget set out a “re-pacing” of capital spending, and the housing ministry’s 2026 service plan says every part of government must “make sure every dollar counts” under fiscal pressure. (bcbudget.gov.bc.ca 1) (bcbudget.gov.bc.ca 2) That shift has reached affordable housing programs that local non-profits rely on. Business in Vancouver reported in March that the province paused the Community Housing Fund and stopped moving ahead with new applications from the latest intake, forcing at least one 690-home Surrey project to seek other financing. (biv.com) Researchers at the University of British Columbia’s Balanced Supply of Housing institute said Budget 2026 contained $1.4 billion in housing cuts. The group said the province kept its long-run housing strategy on paper while stepping back from near-term support for affordable projects. (bsh.ubc.ca) The province has not stopped announcing housing openings. Housing Minister Christine Boyle said on April 10 that British Columbia, through British Columbia Housing, funded and opened 384 homes in March 2026 and has more than 95,000 homes delivered or underway since 2017. (news.gov.bc.ca) At the same time, Boyle said on April 1 that the province is changing development-charge rules to lower upfront costs and help more projects move ahead sooner. Those changes are meant to help local governments reduce fees for more housing types and qualify for federal infrastructure money. (archive.news.gov.bc.ca) In McBride, Edwards told council there were no rentals available in the village when she made the case for the Horseshoe Lake build. For now, the project has land, a local sponsor and a unit plan, but not the provincial funding it was built around. (therockymountaingoat.com)
