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
Private investors are ready to invest in community housing. Are you ready to seize the opportunity?
Public funding is still very much the backbone of community housing, and for good reason. It’s what makes deeply affordable rents possible, especially for lower-income households. But on the ground, […]
Nunalingni Piruqpaalirut Fund secures continued funding, set to resume operations now
After a period of demonstrated success in nurturing grassroots housing solutions, the Nunalingni Piruqpaalirut Fund—meaning “Growth in our land”—has been renewed for one year with a $750,000 commitment. The program, […]
Student Housing Nova Scotia: Reinventing itself after 50 years
After focusing on a single property for more than 50 years, Student Housing Nova Scotia (SHNS) turned the loss of its only building into an opportunity to reinvent itself and […]
Scaling with intention: key takeaways from ENFHS’s strategic journey
Three years ago, community housing organization Entre Nous Femmes Housing Society (ENFHS) had approximately 400 units spread across 11 buildings with a team of just six employees. Today, with a […]