Funding an Affordable Modular Housing Project in Quebec: The Programs in 2026

In short — In 2026, an affordable modular housing project in Quebec is funded mainly through four levers: the PHAQ (the SHQ's flagship program), the SHQ project call for 500 highly prefabricated housing units (funded by the $1.8-billion Canada-Quebec FACL agreement), the federal Maisons Canada agency ($13 billion, with prefabrication as a priority), and CMHC mortgage loan insurance, extended to modular construction in May 2026 — including APH Select. AccèsLogis is over for new projects. The right program depends on who you are: non-profit, co-operative, housing office, municipality, or private developer.

The program landscape moves fast — the PHAQ was modified in May 2025, CMHC insurance extended in May 2026 — and bad information still circulates, starting with references to AccèsLogis as if it were still open. Here is the up-to-date map, who uses each program, and what to verify before applying. For the broader context (why governments are betting on prefabrication), see our feature on modular construction and the housing crisis.

The 2026 map at a glance

PHAQ: the SHQ's flagship program

The Programme d'habitation abordable Québec (Quebec affordable housing program) funds affordable rental housing projects for low- and modest-income households and people with special needs. An important point for structuring a deal: it is open to non-profits, co-operatives, and housing offices as much as to private developers — a break from the AccèsLogis logic.

In broad strokes (parameters to reconfirm on the official page when you apply, since the program was modified on May 7, 2025):

• a subsidy calculated by a rate in the range of 10% to 60% applied to a standardized construction cost per square metre;
• assistance capped at approximately 60% or 80% of total cost depending on the type of applicant;
• affordability commitments of approximately 35 years in the qualified-developer stream (stream 4);
• a municipal weighting factor introduced in May 2025, which adjusts the subsidy by territory.

Two notes of realism. First, the program's delivery pace has been criticized: in spring 2024, La Presse reported that no PHAQ unit had yet been delivered, with roughly 341 units under construction out of some 1,600 selected — one more argument for fast construction methods. Second, Quebec's 2026-2027 budget added funding for approximately 1,000 additional affordable units, mainly through the PHAQ; the exact amounts must be confirmed directly in the budget plan. The SHQ also offers a complementary financial tool, the Programme de financement en habitation (PFH), for projects selected under the PHAQ.

For whom? It is the default entry point for any Quebec sponsor — community-based or private — targeting affordable rents. Modular is a construction method like any other here: it is your financial structure and your rents that are evaluated, not your process.

The SHQ "500 highly prefabricated housing units" call and the FACL agreement

This is the program most directly relevant to the sector. The SHQ launched a qualification call in August 2024, then a project call in January 2025 (submissions until March 12, 2025) for the rapid construction of 500 highly prefabricated housing units, with first deliveries expected in 2026. The call was open to co-operatives, non-profits, housing offices, and private companies.

The money comes from the Canada-Quebec agreement on the Fonds pour accélérer la construction de logements (FACL, Housing Accelerator Fund): $900 million federal and $900 million from Quebec, totalling $1.8 billion, for a target of 8,000 social and affordable housing units, including 500 for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

For whom? The 2025 call is closed, but its significance goes beyond the 500 units: Quebec has institutionalized highly prefabricated multi-unit housing as a delivery method for affordable housing. Project sponsors should watch SHQ announcements — the selected projects and any subsequent calls — and start preparing files compatible with this format now (site ready, standardizable design). Housing co-operatives were explicitly eligible.

Maisons Canada: the federal bet on prefabrication

Maisons Canada (Build Canada Homes), launched on September 14, 2025, is a federal agency with an initial envelope of $13 billion that explicitly prioritizes prefabricated, modular, and mass-timber construction. Its first initiative: 4,000 prefabricated homes across six sites, including one in Quebec, in Longueuil. The Parliamentary Budget Officer forecasts approximately 26,000 units by 2029-2030 (PBO).

For whom? The agency is young and its mechanisms are still taking shape; at this stage, it mainly interests municipalities and sponsors able to position themselves on public land and large-scale partnerships. For a Quebec non-profit, it is a file to follow rather than a counter to apply at tomorrow morning — but its market signal (the federal government is buying prefabricated housing in volume) strengthens the entire sector.

CMHC: mortgage loan insurance opens to modular (the May 2026 breakthrough)

For a long time, the most concrete obstacle to multi-unit modular was not technical but financial: bank disbursement schedules followed the progress of a job site, not a factory. On May 7, 2026, after a pilot project that financed more than 800 modular rental units in five provinces, CMHC extended its multi-unit mortgage loan insurance to modular construction across all its products, including APH Select (MLI Select) — the key product for affordable rental projects. CMHC also launched "Prefab Plus" for buyers: a 5% down payment and progressive drawdowns in up to four tranches, adapted to the pace of factory production.

For whom? Any multi-unit borrower — non-profit, co-operative, or private developer — building a modular project with insured financing. Concretely, it makes it possible to combine a PHAQ capital subsidy, an insured APH Select loan adapted to modular, and a compressed construction schedule that reduces interim interest. On the mortgage eligibility of modular in general, see our article on modular home mortgages and financing.

AccèsLogis: over — do not build your financing plan on it

A necessary clarification, because the reflex persists in the community housing sector: AccèsLogis Québec is over for new projects. Its end was announced in February 2023 and it was replaced by the PHAQ. The SHQ now only funds the completion of projects already committed. If a financing document, a consultant, or a website presents AccèsLogis as an open counter, the information is outdated.

Which program for which project sponsor?

• Housing non-profits: PHAQ (+ PFH) as the foundation; CMHC/APH Select insured loan adapted to modular; watch SHQ calls dedicated to prefabrication. The UTILE case in Rimouski illustrates a successful multi-source non-profit deal.
• Housing co-operatives: same levers as non-profits; co-operatives were explicitly eligible for the SHQ call for 500 prefabricated units.
• Housing office / municipality: PHAQ for projects carried or supported by the office; municipal contributions (land, taxes, financial assistance) are often decisive in financing packages; Maisons Canada to watch for public land.
• Private developer: PHAQ (qualified-developer stream, with affordability commitments of approximately 35 years) and CMHC-insured financing; modular adds schedule compression. Our guide to affordable and community housing details the processes.

Verify before you apply: the checklist

1. Is the program open today? Re-read the official page the week you apply — the PHAQ changed in May 2025, CMHC insurance in May 2026; nothing guarantees the parameters cited here will still be accurate when you read this.
2. Is your sponsor status eligible for the targeted stream? Non-profit, co-operative, housing office, private: streams and caps differ.
3. Do your target rents meet the program's affordability thresholds, over the entire required commitment period (in the range of 35 years under the PHAQ for some streams)?
4. Is your land actually ready? Compliant zoning, realistic permits, utility connections: modular's speed is useless if the site is blocked.
5. Can your financing structure handle modular's cash-flow calendar? The factory invoices early; validate compatible disbursements with your lender (which is precisely what the CMHC extension makes easier).
6. Is your manufacturer certified? In Quebec, a factory-built building must carry CAN/CSA-A277 certification to be sold or leased.
7. Are local contributions in the file? Municipal land, tax holidays, community down payments: the deals that get built stack several sources.

Sources: Gouvernement du Québec / SHQ (PHAQ, changes of May 7, 2025, AccèsLogis, project call for 500 highly prefabricated housing units, FACL agreement), Gouvernement du Canada (Maisons Canada), CMHC (news release of May 7, 2026), PBO, La Presse. Article written by Jeremy Soares. Last updated: July 1, 2026.