Why aim for 20% community housing in Canada?
Canada is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, and finding sustainable solutions is urgent. Setting a target of 20% community housing (up from 3.5% currently) is a necessary step to ensure equitable housing access and greater community resilience. It’s a long-term vision rooted in sustainability, inclusion, and collective action.
Transforming how we build and collaborate
Achieving this target means reimagining the ways we plan, finance, and work together. It calls for hybrid models and bold partnerships that align mission and means.
It also requires the sector unlocks its economic potential with new financial approaches from reinvesting property equity to building mixed-income projects that balance affordability with long-term viability.
Shifting mindsets
Transforming the sector requires a shift in how we think, collaborate, and innovate. It means embracing a culture that is more open to experimentation and new operational models, while remaining true to the core values that define community housing: social justice, solidarity, and democratic governance.
For this cultural evolution to take root and endure, it must be grounded in a sector that is skilled, well-structured, and representative. By investing in professional capacity building, the Centre aims to strengthen sector expertise, standardize practices, and recognize knowledge drawn from on-the-ground experience. By promoting more diverse leadership, it creates space for a broader range of voices and lived experiences that truly reflect the communities being served. These strategic choices equip the sector to face transformation with greater confidence, coherence, and legitimacy.
Joining forces for success
Success lies in collaboration between government, community, philanthropy, and private capital. Strategic partnerships are key to unlocking resources, enabling large-scale coordinated action, streamlining processes and fostering innovation.
A realistic ambition
The 20% target is ambitious, but it is within reach. With courage, boldness and shared purpose, we can build a future where community housing is not the exception, but a central pillar of Canada’s housing system.
News on the 20% target
Rooted’s new model for lasting affordability
In late 2024, Dartmouth Housing took a decisive step. After more than four decades serving low-income tenants in Nova Scotia, the non-profit housing provider realized that small-scale operations and reliance […]
Building homes for Canada
The Community Housing Transformation Centre applauds the federal government’s launch of Build Canada Homes, created to address the urgency to the housing crisis in Canada. Build Canada Homes is committed […]
Webinar: Update on Nova Scotia growth funds
The allocation criteria for the Nova Scotia Community Housing Growth Fund (NS-CHGF) and the Nova Scotia Black Community Housing Growth Fund (NS-BCHGF) have changed. Join us on Thursday, October 30, […]
Upcoming webinar. Tools and tactics for navigating housing predevelopment: The Phoenix experience
The Centre, in collaboration with Phoenix Youth Programs, invites you to join a 60-minute webinar designed to share knowledge and lessons learned from a project addressing youth homelessness and housing […]