diff --git a/python/pylibraft/CMakeLists.txt b/python/pylibraft/CMakeLists.txt
index 7434d735b7..91e52e962f 100644
--- a/python/pylibraft/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/python/pylibraft/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,9 +14,14 @@
 
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.23.1 FATAL_ERROR)
 
+include(../../fetch_rapids.cmake)
+
 set(pylibraft_version 23.08.00)
 
-include(../../fetch_rapids.cmake)
+# We always need CUDA for pylibraft because the raft dependency brings in a
+# header-only cuco dependency that enables CUDA unconditionally.
+include(rapids-cuda)
+rapids_cuda_init_architectures(pylibraft)
 
 project(
   pylibraft
@@ -25,7 +30,7 @@ project(
             # language to be enabled here. The test project that is built in scikit-build to verify
             # various linking options for the python library is hardcoded to build with C, so until
             # that is fixed we need to keep C.
-            C CXX
+            C CXX CUDA
 )
 
 option(FIND_RAFT_CPP "Search for existing RAFT C++ installations before defaulting to local files"
@@ -51,15 +56,6 @@ endif()
 include(rapids-cython)
 
 if(NOT raft_FOUND)
-  # TODO: This will not be necessary once we upgrade to CMake 3.22, which will pull in the required
-  # languages for the C++ project even if this project does not require those languages.
-  include(rapids-cuda)
-  rapids_cuda_init_architectures(pylibraft)
-  enable_language(CUDA)
-  # Since pylibraft only enables CUDA optionally we need to manually include the file that
-  # rapids_cuda_init_architectures relies on `project` including.
-  include("${CMAKE_PROJECT_pylibraft_INCLUDE}")
-
   set(BUILD_TESTS OFF)
   set(BUILD_PRIMS_BENCH OFF)
   set(BUILD_ANN_BENCH OFF)