Our priorities
The Centre has identified five key issues that are critical to the evolution and transformation of community housing across Canada.
Sector growth
- Encourage and facilitate sustainable growth through existing funding mechanisms
- Support the exploration of new growth strategies such as acquisition and land trusts
- Enhance the dissemination and use of promotional tools that promote community housing as a solution for the future
- Identify and address sector gaps in emerging issues and overlooked opportunities, including the impact of economic boom and bust cycles
Improving the sector’s environmental responsibility
- Help housing providers, as well as tenants and co-op members, reduce their environmental footprint
- Promote the use of green tools and encourage the implementation of environmental best practices
Resilience and innovative practices
- Improve the quality of management and governance within the sector
- Engage community housing providers to leverage the financial and social outcomes of their operations
- Support providers in adopting transformative business and management models
Social inclusion and community action
- Promote tenant participation in our organizations and in the broader community
- Provide resources and tools to help organizations implement of best practices
- Contribute to the improvement of tenant services
Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
- Promote, within the Centre and externally, the importance of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
- Accompany and support Indigenous-managed housing providers in their transformation efforts
- Create tools and training materials tailored to the reality of Indigenous peoples to facilitate the deployment of community-based housing and contribute to reconciliation
Organizational Stewardship
In addition to these priorities, the organizational management of the Centre must be in line with our vision for the sector.
Funding
We’re funded by the National Housing Strategy.
Our members
Our members represent and serve the needs of Canada’s community-housing sector.
British Columbia Non–Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA)
BCNPHA is the association of non–profit housing providers in British Columbia. BCNPHA represents 434 non–profit housing providers (a total of 44,107 units) as well as one government provider with approximately 7,000 units. BCNPHA provides its services, programs, and resources to member and non–member providers throughout the province.
Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA)
The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association has 333 members including social housing providers, non–profit organizations, municipalities, all provincial/territorial housing departments, individuals, and businesses. CHRA, through its Indigenous Caucus, also works together for better housing for northern, rural, and urban First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples.
Confédération québécoise des coopératives d’habitation (CQCH)
The Confédération québécoise des coopératives d’habitation is the voice for co-op housing in Québec. There are approximately 1,300 housing co-ops in Québec and more than 30,000 units. The CQCH provides asset-management planning, financial viability and energy sustainability assistance and governance support to co-ops throughout Québec in both of Canada’s official languages.
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada)
The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada is the unified voice of housing co-ops across Canada. CHF Canada represents over 900 housing co-ops, approximately 92,000 units, and a quarter-of-a-million Canadians. CHF Canada provides asset management, insurance, co-op support, education and advocacy in every province and territory.
Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia (CHF BC)
The Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia has 249 member co-ops with 13,540 co-op homes across British Columbia. CHF BC provides asset management planning, access to preferential financing, and commercial services, as well as education programs and advocacy for its members.
Housing Services Corporation (HSC)
The Housing Services Corporation provides programs and services to Ontario’s affordable-housing sector to sustain and preserve the building asset. Among HSC’s focuses are energy services to improve building efficiency and energy conservation, insurance-and-risk management and asset management.
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association represents more than 700 non-profit housing providers. ONPHA’s members house more than 400,000 people in 170,000 homes in 220 Ontario communities. ONPHA fills knowledge gaps through its original research and analysis. ONPHA provides education resources and provider support to its members.
Réseau Québécois des organismes sans but lucratif d’habitation (RQOH)
The Réseau québécois des OSBL d’habitation represents non-profit housing providers in Québec. The RQOH’s membership reach totals 942 providers and 38,915 units. It provides technical services and an insurance program as well as serving in an advocacy role for its members.
The Agency for Co-operative Housing (The Agency)
The Agency for Co-operative Housing is the not-for-profit administrator of federal co-operative housing programs in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and P.E.I. under agreement with CMHC. The Agency—among other responsibilities—reviews co-ops’ financials, approves replacement-reserve plans and assists co-ops in difficulty.