Co-op Housing Federation calls for new non-market housing

At its Annual Meeting on June 13, 2021, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada adopted two resolutions addressing national housing policy.

The first called on the federal government to Develop a new non-market housing construction and acquisition program as part of the National Housing Strategy (NHS) in order to develop many new affordable co-op homes. Currently, co-ops that seek funding are competing against for-profit developers. Their larger capacity and equity give them an advantage. This has resulted in limited uptake of the NHS from co-ops, resulting in few new co-op homes.

The second called on the federal government to create and implement a National Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy with both dedicated investments and an Indigenous-led governance structure, before the end of the current fiscal year. The recently announced federal budget did not include any provision for creating and funding a National Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.