A healthy housing system provides access to affordable housing options that meet people’s needs at different stages of life. Yet, rising costs and the declining availability of housing stock and housing choices, coupled with stagnating incomes, have left too many people without safe, stable, accessible and affordable homes. High rates of core housing need are not being met with relief. Instead, deeply affordable and supportive housing options are shrinking, driving up waitlists, pushing more people into homelessness, contributing to socio-economic challenges and heightening inequalities.
A critical pitfall of our current housing system is the lack of sustained focus and investment in stimulating the community housing sector in favour of encouraging a private market-dominated landscape. Approximately 95% of Canada’s housing stock is privately owned. At only 3.5%, the proportion of community housing falls far behind that of our OECD peers. While community housing providers have successfully brought projects to completion despite being constrained by insufficient and inconsistent funding, they have not yet been able to bring the full force of their expertise to bear or operate at the scale possible — and needed.
A fundamental shift in how housing is planned, funded and delivered is required — and, if done correctly, Build Canada Homes could be the catalyst we need in realizing the full potential of Canada’s community housing sector across the country.