I’m live blogging from the first-ever Prairie Housing Summit, which is bringing together non-profit and for-profit housing developers, community organizations, and planners. I love going to a regional event, because you meet so many people you would never meet in your own city. At the opening reception last night, there were a lot of people here that I’ve never met. And they’re all doing super interesting work in housing: one is a fundraiser for an LGBT seniors housing project, two women were public engagement experts working for non-profits, one is a technician for an architecture firm. I met a number of consultants who are working for architecture, engineering, and public sector organizations to propose and build the housing we so badly need, elected officials, and policy experts. Kudos to the City of Edmonton for bringing together such a diverse crowd. The City has increased their affordable housing supply by 40% in recent years and actually created a pipeline of affordable housing projects. They’re the most affordable large city in the country, but acknowledge they still have work to do in disrupting the patterns leading to homelessness and building supportive housing. This conference is hosted through their Housing Accelerator Fund, with the aim of sharing their success and learning from other jurisdictions.
Day 1
Three Solutions to the Housing Crisis
Keynote Dr. Carolyn Whitzman (University of Ottawa & University of Toronto School of Cities) started by saying that Indigenous people were the first to be unhoused in Canada (through land dispossession), and that all levels of government intervention in housing need to integrate by-Indigenous approaches and meaningfully address the housing challenges among Indigenous people. She also believes that we can solve the housing crisis–and to do that we can’t have this misalignment between the National Housing Strategy targets and its programs, inadequate tenant protections, social services and planning policy at the provincial level, and very slow and limited production of rental and non-market housing. The federal government ignored responsibility for housing from 1992-2017 (then the National Housing Strategy invested $110 B in mostly unaffordable market rental), provincial social assistance hasn’t kept up with basic needs like housing, and municipal governments don’t allow low-cost housing (e.g. rooming houses or small apartment buildings) near jobs and services.
Whitzman estimated that at the current rate of building low-cost housing, it would take 1,000 years to end homelessness. She proposes that we could end homelessness by 2040, end low-income housing need by 2050, and ensure everyone in the country has an affordable and adequate home by 2060 if we focused on 5-year plans and annual outcome reporting towards reaching these targets. She would want to see grants and financing for 50,000 deeply affordable homes with supports annually, provincial social assistance that actually covers the cost of food and housing, and at municipalities, as of right zoning approvals, land, and property tax and development charge exemptions for affordable housing. She also thinks non-market actors work more effectively by using shared equity (e.g. BC Community Land Trust), developing a revolving fund, and replicating designs (e.g Mission Unitaînés developing seniors housing in Québec).
We had a great panel on unlocking land for housing with moderator Mary Rowe, Nat Pace (Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts), Mike Bulthuis (Ottawa Community Land Trust), Christian Benson (Canada Lands Company) and Rob Appleyard (Brentwood Community Development Group). Lots of questions on land trusts from the audience, and Mary kept it nice and conversational. Rob also had some insights on how to build a project with a range of different housing types.
Housing and Climate
Former mayors Don Iveson (CMHC & Civic Good) and David Miller (C40 Cities & Elbows Up for Climate) had a fireside chat with The Honourable Paula Simons (Senate of Canada) on housing and climate resilience. Iveson noted that municipalities need city charters so they have more freedom to address regulatory issues and manage land, and regional planning if we’re going to achieve more with climate and infrastructure (noting that this region has 9 transit authorities that could be merged). Simons asked them both the good question: can we build affordable housing that is sustainable? Miller noted this is a false dichotomy, because affordability is the cost to live in a house, including insurance (which is higher if you’re in a flood or fire-prone area) and insulation (which prevents heat loss), for example. Iveson noted that every house we build from now on that isn’t climate safe is going to be a drag on the finance systems in Canada (e.g. insurance, banking). Miller made the point that we actually know how to build climate safe housing because some Canadian jurisdictions are doing it (e.g. Edmonton, Vancouver), and cities around the world are too. The housing we’re building will last for the next 50-70 years. He noted that Toronto made a Wet Weather Flow Master Plan to deal with the increasing severity and frequency of plans by replacing sewers at higher capacities, which would cost $1 B. When Simons asked about the pushback municipalities are getting against gentle density in residential areas, Miller joked that there’s more hate directed towards bike lanes. When the City of Toronto moved towards the rapid transit plan, they managed to get public support and even support for higher taxes to pay for it. Iveson noted that people’s fears are never as bad as the reality, and that cities can’t make decisions based on fears because they would fail–you get exclusionary neighbourhoods and low-income people leaving the city.
Supportive HousingÂ
In a panel on the future of supportive housing in Canada, moderator Dr. Hakique Virani (public health specialist) moderated a session with Damian Collins (University of Alberta & Community Housing Canada Research Partnership), Dr. Marie Cecile Kotyk (University of Calgary School of Architecture/Planning & Koytk Consulting), Tricia Smith (Radius Community Health & Healing), and Keri Cardinal (NIGiNan Housing Ventures). Smith noted we’ve moved away from a Housing First approach, and she’d like to see housing as health care because it’s so critical to health outcomes. Collins noted that supportive housing does combine treatment and housing, but there’s been some pushback against compulsory treatment for things like addiction–but Cardinal said there is more supportive housing than there used to be. She noted that the Indigenous approach is that anyone seeking housing or supportive services are family members and that they approach treatment in a broad way, which might include integrating traditional ceremonies or returning to their home community. Kotyk noted that housing alone can’t stabilize someone: we also need to consider an individual’s education, community support, and individual identity, which may have been affected by structural racism.
There was an interesting Innovation Series with 7-minute presentations: Ryan Young (Social Enterprise Fund & Edmonton Community Development Company) talked about using capital in different ways (e.g. revolving funds, securities, non-profits buying an equity stake in a building). Dave Harder and Mike Wood Daly (Relèven) works with faith communities to renew their existing properties to convert or renovate buildings, as many are closing: financial, stakeholder, congregation and neighbourhood scans to determine whether new housing could be built. Alkarim Devani (mddl and RNDSQR) built an app that allows developers to see whether a project could be built on a lot if you type in the address and educates students on how they could build housing on their existing lots. Francisco (AcQBuilt) is an off-site manufacturer of single-family and multi-family housing with panelized roof and floor systems in Edmonton. They are saying there is less risk and more predictability when you’re working in a factory setting: they deliver 900 units per year (about three units per day).
Day 2
Affordable Housing in Transit Corridors
Dina Graser (Canadian Alliance for Transit-Connected Housing) and Andrea Nemtin (Social Innovation Canada) talked about how we got to our current crisis: the decrease in public housing construction, the increase in REIT accumulation of units, and the recent supply shortage during and after COVID-19. Evictions increased and the homeownership rate decreased for the first time in decades. Nemetin is particularly concerned about the decline in non-market housing, and says that even five years ago there wasn’t an understanding that non-market housing is essential infrastructure. Now that we know this, we’re seeing anti-speculation, zoning, and increased tenant protections, we’re seeing new CLTs forming, community bonds (Tapestry), and blended capital funds (Vancity Community Foundation, Collaborative Housing Alliance). Nemetin is working on a blended capital fund for CATCH, but she notes that investment can only work with policy changes and housing forms like co-ops and CLTs. SIC conducted an evaluation of CMHC’s Strategy Solutions Labs (71 were held across the country) that brought together over 1203 stakeholder groups: over 220 solutions were generated with 52% of them implemented and 41% of the solutions going beyond their original site.
Graser described the Hamilton Solutions Lab, which centered around the creation of the Hamilton LRT. Along the B Line, which had about 108,000 people and about 1/4 of the region’s population that is in core housing need, thousands of people were displaced so the Solutions Lab focused on what could be done to prevent this problem. Three outcomes from the Lab included municipal upzoning, policies to protect and maintain rental housing stock, and tenant protection bylaws to prevent displacement. The CATCH fund was created to provide flexible funding to community housing providers for affordable TOD. The fund includes private investment of 65-70% with bond-like returns, public investment of 15-25%, and then there is 10% in seed capital, to fund projects within 800m of a transit line. The Hamilton fund will be launched in summer 2025 and CATCH will be expanded across the country to help build affordability and inclusion into the development process to address the negative impacts of gentrification.
City of Edmonton staff also made an exciting announcement on a new program in partnership with the Edmonton Community Foundation. They’re launching the program through their Housing Action Team next month to partner with faith-based communities, like St. Paul’s Lutheran Church which has converted their sanctuary into a community space and added 11 affordable housing units.
Innovations in Financing
In a panel on financing and capacity tools for housing delivery, Monique Blough led a conversation between Tina Thomas (Edmonton Community Foundation), Aleeya Velji (Enfin Impact), Kevin Gardner (Canada ICI), Carley Bringeland (Vancity Community Investment Bank), and Jolene Livingston (Partners for Affordable Housing and Bespoke Consulting), Livingston mentioned working with the public, private, philanthropic and social profit sectors (what she calls a P4). For example, they were able to raise $500,000 through philanthropic partners to support a non-profit organization in acquiring land for a project in East Hastings. Bringeland noted that there are ways VanCity can develop flexible funding quickly, which is important for non-profit projects to move forward. Their Preserve and Protect Guarantee Program helps provide some security for non-profits to acquire projects and also provide some income from a GIC. Thomas said there is over-reliance on government funding which creates a lot of risk for non-profits. Gardner’s perspective from the private sector is that developers have had major success through a CMHC program, MLI Select financing, which has catalyzed rapid growth in purpose-built rental housing. About 11,000 of the 20,000 housing starts in Edmonton have been in multi-family projects. He says that most developers are setting aside a portion of their units to be affordability but the incomes in Edmonton are so high that they still have fairly high rents. But there hasn’t been much engagement between the private and non-profit sectors, which Gardner thinks should be happening.
Velji noted that more non-profits are using MLI Select, and CMHC is giving more credit and greater financing to these projects–she says the key is pairing forgivable loans with non-forgivable financing products. Is it possible for the for-profit and non-profits sectors to work side by side to deliver all the types of housing we need? Velji noted there are more mergers happening between non-profits in order to build the maturity and sophistication to develop more units. Thomas mentioned the $1M in grants and $20 to their Social Enterprise Fund that the Edmonton Community Foundation will be giving to support affordable housing projects, including buying units (equity) within an existing project to help support the non-profit units, and leasable units that help support the housing units. What if there was a list of organizations that is vetted to partner with non-profits, complete architectural drawings or building condition assessments? Livingston noted that Partners for Affordable Housing is actually trying to match projects with philanthropists through their Front Door directory.
Indigenous-led Housing Development
Katy Fabris, Kaela Schramm and Bronwyn McLean presented some of the amazing work from M’akola Development Services, which has over 70 active projects and 0ver 4,000 units under development across BC. About 40-50% of their projects are targeted to Indigenous people and communities and the rest are other non-profits. Their surpluses go back to M’akola Housing Services for their work, including scholarships and internships for Indigenous students. Station Avenue, a partnership with Hulitan Family & Community Services, is in downtown Langford, on the west side of Victoria, BC is a project that included 17 units initially, and now has 100 units. The project received funding from the Province of BC, with two commercial spaces in the building owned by Hulitan and M’akola Housing Services and Indigenous artworks integrated into the project. It opened in 2020.
McLean discussed Kikékyelc: A Place of Belonging., a 31-unit project in Kamloops, BC inspired by Alex, a young person who lived in 17 foster care placements and ultimately committed suicide in 2015. Lii Michif Otipemisiwak Family and Community Services began a vision to build housing for youth like Alex who were slipping through cracks in the child welfare system or were about to age out of it. They formed partnerships that led to the Kikékyelc project, and eventually got funding from the City of Kamloops and BC Housing and the CMHC Housing Investment Fund, which allows affordable rents for the project. The project also integrated work opportunities for youth in the trades.Youth and elders sign participation agreements, volunteering a certain amount of their time in programs run by LMO. Unfortunately the project faced significant pushback against its zoning application, but was successful. M’akola Development Services is working with LMO on another project.
Schramm presented the work MDS has done with the Nisga’a Lisims Government: Nisga’a is a self-governing nation with a self-governing treaty (modern treaty, which is quite unique in BC). MDS conducted a Housing Needs Assessment for them, a housing plan and is now taking on a number of developments. They identified the need for mixed-use buildings where services are offered in addition to supportive housing–a lot of the exising housing is not accessible for seniors. Building within their three villages includes trades people moving within the different sites, and they were successful in getting CMHC funding, but their project funding from BC Housing was cancelled this year with the 2026 Budget announcement. They’re now trying to develop the same number of units, but will be missing some of the service spaces.
Since 2022, Chawathil Nation had worked with Indigenous Services Canada and CMHC to bring housing to the community but hadn’t been successful. In 2023, MDS joined the team to get funding through the BC Indigenous Housing Fund. They have now proposed a number of 3, 4, and 5-BR homes, driven by the community’s need, which will be RGI with the help of a provincial operational subsidy and a non-collateral mortgage agreement. A local non-profit holds the lease and operates the units for the Nation. Fabris attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the project yesterday!
Schramm also presented a new project from Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society. A temporary shelter was opened in 2009, managed by VAFCS, but they advocated for a permanent shelter when they saw there was long-term need. In 2016, they identified a City-owned piece of property at 1015 Hastings Street and developed an MOU, working towards a building for Ho’kwee-melh Kloshe Lum. The project has 80 shelter beds, 25 supportive units, 87 affordable units, 56 market rental units, and a café and bike shop. Following some redesign due to the proposed expansion of the CN line right next to the site, it was rezoned in 2019 and the development permit issued. Environmental remediation began in 2022, construction started in 2023, and tenants will move in next month.
Cost-Efficient Delivery and Reducing Risk
Shout-out to Dalhousie School of Planning alumna Uytae Lee, who moderated a panel with Sean Crump (Access DZN), Jodie Wacko (Cantiro), Colin Neufeld (5468796 Architecture), Lyla Peter (City of Edmonton), and Bryce Strilchuk (Eagle Builders) discussed ways that we can deliver projects cost efficiently. Peter noted that aligning their programs and processes to meet goals has been critical: The City of Edmonton has removed regulations, streamlined regulations to allow all types of housing across the city, removed parking requirements, and supported developers in their pre-application process). Neufeld said it’s important to align the planners, developers, construction managers early on in a project to build trust and make sure roles are clearly defined. Crump said it’s important to include elements like energy efficiency or accessibility early because they can sometimes contradict each other, so it’s important to make sure they’re coordinated. Wacko said affordability goals can be complex and the conflicting wants and needs contributing to a circuitous path towards the end goal.
Organizational Health and Scaling with Purpose
Jaydan Tait (Attainable Homes Calgary) and Bo M. Jiang (Calgary Housing Company) noted that a clear mandate and board support is critical to scaling up your organization–you have to be focused to grow. Nick Lilley (HomeEd) said that at HomeEd, pursuit of progress trumped the status quo: they recognized and rewarded team members who met the organization’s goals and let go of those who didn’t. Stephan Richard (Community Housing Transformation Centre) said many small organizations are still in a scarcity mindset–they know they have to grow but they’ll have to change the way they operate, which might include new systems and technology to manage information and assets. A lot of board members are stuck in the older ways of operating, so board diversity will be important in succession planning. Lilley agreed their board competencies now align with their goals: board members have the skills they need in acquisition, procurement etc. Jiang mentioned the skill level of their leadership team at CHC, and that they are always looking for opportunities and ways to transform their operations. Their board members are also visionary, pushing the organization beyond its own goals. Tait noted that their consultants and trades they work with also understand their mission so some of the responsibility for managing the buildings can be handed over to them. Lilley emphasized that you need to invest in new methods and technologies, but you also need to create a way to find flexibility for staff, like a day off every second week to help them avoid burnout. Jiang said they switched terminology: instead of units, they call it homes, which changed the perception of how they serve communities.
