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Celebrating 20 Years of Advocacy

This year, the Manitoba Right to Housing Coalition (RTH) celebrates 20 years of advocacy for social housing and regulatory change for housing rights. As we mark this milestone, we are reaching out to our supporters to ask you to consider making a donation to help sustain and strengthen our work.

Why the Right to Housing Matters

We are asking you to invest in this work because the need for strong, independent, evidence-based housing advocacy has never been greater. Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health. Poor housing conditions are associated with poor health outcomes—including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, mental health conditions, infectious disease transmission, and injury.

The dire shortage of housing for people living in poverty is especially concerning. It is putting increasing pressure on the health care system and health care providers, and far too many people are suffering. Poor housing is also associated with poor education outcomes. Kids living in poverty without adequate, stable housing are less likely to do well in school, and more likely to remain in poverty as adults. Recent data shows that homelessness in Canada has doubled in recent years, and seniors are shown to be the fastest growing demographic among those without a home.

In 2019, the Canadian government enacted legislation recognizing housing as a basic human right. Yet across Canada, there is a growing number of people unable to access housing that they can afford. The dire shortage of rental housing affordable to low-income households in Manitoba has been well documented.

The Case for Social Housing

The evidence is clear. We need sustained public investment in social housing and stronger protections for renters. Social housing is non-market housing with rents set no more than 30% of income. It includes non-profit, cooperative and public housing. Despite the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recognizing social housing as an essential component of housing policy, and the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizing housing as a foundational social determinant of health, governments are not doing enough to ensure social housing is created and maintained.

20 Years of Building the Case for Change

For 20 years, RTH has brought together organizations, researchers, advocates, and community members to build the evidence and public support needed to move governments to invest in social housing. We engage in research, public education, organizing and advocacy to dispel the myth that the private sector will create housing for all households and to make the case for housing policies that prioritize people who are most poorly served by the market.

Advocacy Makes a Difference

Our work has contributed to concrete policy change. Although not nearly enough, new social housing units have been brought online. Legislation was recently passed to curtail the sale of non-profit housing, and new legislation to strengthen rent regulations is under development. These changes demonstrate that sustained advocacy does make a difference and that continued advocacy is needed to build on these gains.

In 2023, we published our “Social Housing Action Plan for Manitoba”, which sets out a comprehensive agenda for expanding and protecting social housing with supports, and for strengthening tenant protections. The Action Plan includes 5 pillars that we continue to advocate for. We also published “Thinking Inside the Box: Rediscovering How to Build Social Housing in Manitoba” outlining how to finance the development of social housing in Manitoba.

In 2026, RTH partnered with the Manitoba Research Alliance and West Central Women’s Resource Centre to host an event featuring guests from Finland. They offered insights on their success addressing homelessness and housing precarity through intergovernmental collaboration, Our report on the Finnish approach outlines what Manitoba can do to improve housing security.

Help Sustain the Right to Housing Coalition

Policy change does not happen on its own. It requires strong evidence, public education, and the sustained coordination of organizations and individuals who are willing to keep pressing governments to act.

As we look ahead to the next 20 years, we are asking you to help sustain this work.

RTH is a volunteer-run coalition, which allows us to keep our costs low. However, we need resources to coordinate our campaigns, produce and disseminate research, engage the public, manage our communications and website, and organize events.

Will you consider making a donation to RTH?

Your support will help us continue to build a strong evidence-based case and advocate for more government investment and stronger regulations to ensure the right to housing for all. After 20 years of advocacy, we know that change is possible.

With your support we can build on what we have accomplished and continue working toward a Manitoba where everyone has access to safe, secure, and affordable housing.

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