Canadian and Design Construction staff writer
Build Canada Homes (BCH) has appointed Valesa Faria and Jeffery Coles to its executive leadership team as the federal agency ramps up efforts to accelerate affordable housing delivery across Canada.
Faria will step into the role of senior vice-president of partnership and development later this month, while Coles assumed the position of senior vice-president of investments in January.
“As the team grows, we’re focused on bringing in leaders who understand what it takes to deliver housing at scale — how decisions move from paper to projects, and from capital to construction,” chief executive officer Ana Bailão wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. “Jeffery Coles and Valesa Faria each bring deep, practical experience, and together they strengthen how work moves forward across investment, partnerships, and delivery on the ground.
“I’m very pleased to have them joining the Executive Leadership Team and look forward to working closely together as we continue to build capacity and momentum.”
The federal government launched BCH in September 2025 and last week introduced the Build Canada Homes Act, legislation that would establish BCH as a Crown corporation and the federal government’s permanent affordable housing builder.
According to a government backgrounder, BCH is intended to assume the land holdings and development expertise of Canada Lands Company. While the Act awaits Royal Assent, the two entities will work closely together.
A mid-January progress update said BCH has issued requests for qualifications (RFQs) for six sites across the country: Arbo in Toronto; Naawi-Oodena in Winnipeg; Village at Griesbach in Edmonton; Pointe-de-Longueuil in Longueuil, Que.; Heron in Ottawa; and Shannon Park in Dartmouth, N.S. The agency plans to fast-track up to 4,000 housing units across the sites using modular and factory-built construction methods.
BCH has also secured major partnerships with the City of Ottawa and the governments of Nova Scotia and Quebec, and signed a tripartite agreement with Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. Together, those four initiatives are expected to generate more than 7,500 new homes.
Faria brings more than 20 years of experience in housing policy, development review, affordable housing delivery and public-sector transformation. She will lead BCH’s development and partnership efforts, advancing projects with Indigenous partners, non-profit and private developers, and government stakeholders.
Coles will oversee investment strategy and capital deployment, leading how funding is structured and deployed across projects. He brings nearly two decades of experience in real estate investment, finance and capital markets.
