Government of Canada Provides Housing Support for Almost 1 Million Canadian Families

Press Release

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home.  That is why, starting in Budget 2016, the Government of Canada made significant investments to build more affordable housing and to make housing more affordable across Canada.

Since 2016, the Government of Canada has invested more than $5.7 billion across Canada. These investments have helped almost a million families, seniors, women and children fleeing domestic violence, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health and addiction issues, veterans and young adults.

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, today highlighted the federal government’s investments in housing since 2016.

As a result of these investments, 14,703 new units have been or are being built, 156,526 units have been or are being repaired, and 776,233 families or individuals benefited from a more affordable place to live. These investments have also already provided more stable housing to 25,769 Canadians who were homeless or at serious risk of homelessness.

Quotes:

“We are working to make sure every Canadian has access to a safe and affordable place to call home. We are committed to making housing more affordable and thanks to the investments made by the Government of Canada, almost 1 million families across Canada have an affordable home. Canada’s first ever National Housing Strategy, a $40 billion program, will build on this success in the years to come.”

– Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“From the very first day of our Government’s mandate, we have made housing a clear priority. And it’s paying off – with real results and real impacts across the country. Today’s announcement shows the progress we’ve made since 2016 and sets a benchmark for future results. Our Government is only getting started. The National Housing Strategy will build on this momentum to benefit even more Canadians in the months and years to come.”

– Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Quick facts:

• In Ontario alone, the Government of Canada invested $2 billion to support more than 300,000 families since 2016.
• These results are now being followed by a first-ever National Housing Strategy that gives additional, stable, longer-term funds to Canada’s affordable housing sector. The National Housing Strategy will result in more than $40 billion of housing investment and more than half a million families being brought out of housing need.
• The National Housing Strategy will protect the affordability of 385,000 existing housing units, repair 300,000 affordable homes, build another 100,000, and provide direct support for those in housing need.
• The National Housing Strategy will reduce chronic homelessness by 50% and entrench a human rights-based approach to housing in Canada.
• The Government consulted Canadians on a human rights-based approach to housing. Through these consultations, Canadians from diverse backgrounds, housing experts and providers, academics, and people with lived experience from across the country shared their thoughts, ideas and feedback about what housing and human rights mean to them. CMHC today released a What We Heard report available on placetocallhome.ca.

Associated links:

• As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, please follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
• To find out more about Canada’s National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.

Information on this release:

Valérie Glazer
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
819-654-5546
valerie.glazer@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Backgrounder

1,000,000 Reasons to Celebrate Housing in Canada

From April 2016 to September 2018, the Government of Canada has invested more than $5.7 billion to give Canadians greater access to affordable housing. These investments have helped over 982,000 families, seniors, women and children fleeing domestic violence, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health and addiction issues, veterans and young adults.

These investments are in addition to the historic investments committed to under Canada’s first National Housing Strategy (NHS). In addition to the support provided to nearly one million Canadian families, the NHS will deliver a more than $40 billion investment to lift more than half a million families out of housing need.

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