New student housing opens at Simon Fraser University (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

Media Relations
604 209-7629

Backgrounders

Student housing investments provide homes throughout B.C.

The Province is investing in student housing as part of Homes for People, a plan that includes building 12,000 on-campus student housing beds. To date, 7,766 new beds (4,735 provincially funded, 3,031 institution self-funded) are complete or underway, enabling more British Columbians to have affordable housing to pursue post-secondary education, while taking pressure off local rental markets.

Provincially funded projects include:

Interior:

New student housing open

  • 533 beds at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. Total project cost is $38 million ($25.5 million provincial funding). Completed September 2019.
  • 220 beds at University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna. Total project cost is $25 million ($18.7 million provincial funding). Completed September 2020.
  • 100 beds at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook. Total project cost is $19 million ($12.9 million provincial funding). Completed December 2020.

New student housing underway

  • Okanagan College campuses in Vernon (100 beds), Salmon Arm (60 beds) and Kelowna (216 beds). Total project cost is $74.6 million ($71.5 million provincial funding).
  • Selkirk College in Castlegar (114 beds) and Nelson (36 beds). Total project cost is $34.2 million ($32.1 million provincial funding).
  • 148 beds at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. Total project cost is $19.5 million ($10.9 million provincial funding).

Lower Mainland:

New student housing open

  • 383 beds at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. Total cost is $111.6 million ($73 million provincial funding). Completed May 2023.

New student housing underway

  • 398 beds at University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford. Total cost is $73.7 million ($62.3 million provincial funding).
  • 362 beds at Capilano University in North Vancouver. Total cost is $58.2 million ($41.5 million provincial funding).
  • 470 beds at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby. Total cost is $119.7 million ($108.5 million provincial funding).
  • 368 beds and an academic space at Douglas College in New Westminster. Total cost is $292.5 million (government contribution of $202.3 million; $74 million in provincial funding for the academic part of the project and $128.3 million for the student housing from the BC Student Housing Program).

Northern B.C.:

New student housing open

  • 108 beds at Coast Mountain College in Terrace. Total project cost is $21.6 million ($20.6 million provincial funding). Opened October 2021.
  • In Prince George, the College of New Caledonia opened 12 beds in September 2021. Total project cost is $5.3 million, fully funded by the province.

Vancouver Island:

New student housing open

  • The University of Victoria opened its first 398-bed building with dining facilities in September 2022. The second 385-bed building is under construction and expected to open in September 2023, for a total of 783 new beds (621 net new and 162 replacement beds). Total project cost is $230.8 million ($127.9 million provincial funding).

New student housing underway

  • 217 beds at North Island College. Total cost is $77.9 million ($75.9 million provincial funding).
  • 266 new student housing beds at Vancouver Island University. Total cost is $87.8 million ($87 million provincial funding).