Federal bureaucrats considered modelling a government housing logo after Liberal Party campaign branding while developing promotional material for Ottawa’s housing agenda, according to newly released Access To Information records.Blacklock's Reporter says internal emails show Privy Council Office staff raised concerns that proposed branding for the federal “Build Canada Homes” initiative too closely resembled Liberal Party imagery and could violate rules banning partisan government advertising.“It is clear the shape of the house comes directly from the Liberal video ‘Building Canada Strong,’” a Privy Council manager warned in a Sept. 3 staff email.“Colouring the icon red plus the shape coming from a Liberal video may raise questions from a partisan point of view.”The concerns surfaced as officials worked on branding and marketing plans tied to the federal housing program.Staff emails show managers viewed the logo design as politically and visually important to the campaign.“Ideally Canadians should be able to immediately associate the icon with housing without needing to pause or interpret it,” one internal email stated under the subject line “Housing Branding.”“At the moment the design feels a bit abstract and ambiguous.”.Treasury Board rules prohibit federal departments from using taxpayer-funded advertising that includes partisan slogans, party branding or political identifiers.Under the federal Policy On Communications And Federal Identity, all government advertising must remain “free from political party slogans, images and identifiers.”The issue was raised earlier this month during testimony before the House of Commons government operations committee, where MPs questioned whether Liberal campaign messaging was being repurposed for government communications.Conservative MP Kelly Block pointed to the government’s repeated use of the phrase “Canada Strong,” arguing it mirrors Liberal Party branding and fundraising material tied to the 2025 federal election campaign.Treasury Board Secretary Bill Matthews acknowledged officials had discussed the slogan internally.“We have been engaged,” Matthews told the committee when asked whether his department provided advice on use of the “Canada Strong” phrase.Matthews suggested the slogan had evolved from campaign language into official government branding.“If you had asked me in Month One of last year, is ‘Canada Strong’ language offside of the policy, I would have said yes,” he testified.“But as time has gone on, you now have a government that has taken language from campaign promises after it was elected and turned those into government programs.”.Matthews cited the federally promoted “Canada Strong Pass” as an example of branding now treated as legitimate government messaging.“This is now very much the brand of the government, in my opinion,” he said during the exchange.The Treasury Board has so far declined to release any written ruling confirming the Liberal government’s use of the slogan complies with federal non-partisanship rules.
