Community Benefit Agreements Policy

What you need to know

Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) give Vancouver developers a collaborative way to promote growth for the communities they are investing in.

What's happeningCommunity Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are now an optional policy for all new Vancouver development projects

As of December 10, 2025 (758 KB), developers with new projects over 45,000 square metres – which would have previously been required to participate in a Community Benefits Agreement – are no longer required to participate in a CBA, but are still encouraged to opt into a CBA voluntarily.

Participating in a CBA demonstrates a commitment to meeting pre-established targets for local, inclusive employment, and social and local procurement during both construction and early operations phases of a development project.    

Any development project of any size is also welcome to use the CBA as a guide to advance their own equity-serving employment and procurement goals at any level.

Now optional for all projects

While Community Benefits Agreements are now optional for any new development project of any size, our targets continue to be the basis of the CBA.

Adopting a CBA approach – by voluntarily adopting the policy, or by simply using it as a guide – helps align development with local economic needs and the priorities of equity‑denied communities, contributing to a shared vision for Vancouver.

In 2018, Vancouver introduced a CBA policy, becoming the first major Canadian city to require CBAs for developments over 45,000 square metres. The CBA policy established the following as targets for large-scale developments (45,000 square metres or greater): 

  • Local, inclusive employment: Make 10% of all jobs on the development project to come from equity-denied groups and residents, prioritizing new entry-level hires. 
  • Social procurement: Source a minimum of 10% of material goods and services from third party certified social impact or diverse or equity-denied owned businesses, with a priority on Vancouver businesses.  
  • Local procurement: Attain 10% of materials, goods, and services from Vancouver companies first and then companies located in Metro Vancouver or British Columbia. These may or may not also be equity-denied third party certified businesses.

Projects with a signed CBA are encouraged to demonstrate best efforts to meet these targets, and to have the targets in place for the construction phase, as well as for 5-years post-occupancy. These efforts are supported through communication between planners, developers, sub-contractors, and community stakeholders.

Contact us

For the most up to date resources and guides related to the CBA Policy, including further connection to local social enterprises, contact the Community Economic Development team:

Email: [email protected]