The Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network, National Right to Housing Network and Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network are human rights, housing advocacy, and gender justice groups working across Canada to advance the right to housing. We are joining a growing group of over 70 Ontario Councillors, hundreds of members of the legal community and thousands of members of the public to raise the alarm about the recent threats targeted towards some of Ontario’s most marginalized people who are living in encampments, by the Government of Ontario’s potential use of the “notwithstanding clause” to bypass their protected human rights established under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We are deeply concerned about the dangerous precedent this could set not only for residents of Ontario, but for people across the country.

On October 31, 2024, over a dozen mayors (now fifteen mayors) from across Ontario sent a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, requesting the premier use the clause to allow municipalities to evict people living in encampments in their cities – following an invitation from the premier for mayors to make such a request.

The Charter establishes that people living in Canada have certain rights – including the right to life, liberty and security of person. The Charter says that anyone who feels that the government has not respected these rights can go to the courts to seek a remedy.

In this way, the Charter is a law designed to hold Canadian governments at all levels – federal, provincial and municipal – to account.

If someone brings a Charter complaint, the government has an opportunity to explain itself. The Charter establishes that governments may limit Charter rights if those limitations are “reasonable” and “can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered a case where a municipal government sought to evict people from an encampment. The court found that the people living in the encampment did not have appropriate alternate accommodation options, such as affordable housing or shelter, and so eviction would make their “already dire predicament worse.” The court found that eviction would violate the encampment residents’ right to life, liberty and security of person, and so violated the Charter. The Court found that the government action could not be justified as “reasonable” or “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

We are deeply concerned about the attempts by the Premier and these mayors to overturn the precedent that this case set. There is a clause in the Charter – the “notwithstanding clause” – that allows the government to essentially ignore certain parts of the Charter for a period of time. By invoking the notwithstanding clause to evict people from encampments where they do not have appropriate alternative accommodation options, government would be saying that even though its action would make an “already direct predicament worse”… even though its action violates people’s Charter right to life, liberty and security of person… even though courts have already found that this type of eviction could not be justified as “reasonable” or “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”… it should be allowed.

If this sounds like a human rights crisis, that’s because it is. The notwithstanding clause should never be used in a situation like this.

If governments were to use the notwithstanding clause to evict people from encampments, it would cause significant harm in two key ways:

1.     It would undermine the right to housing, enshrined in Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act (NHSA).

The right to housing means that governments should prioritize the housing needs of the most marginalized, disadvantaged groups in society. Overriding the Charter by using the notwithstanding clause to evict people from encampments when they have no appropriate alternate accommodation options means governments are doing the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do under the NHSA–Canada’s human right to housing legislation. It makes marginalized groups’ “already dire predicament worse” – when really what governments are obligated to do is to maximize the resources they apply to meet the needs of these groups, for example, by building deeply affordable and supportive housing.

Particularly, the use of the notwithstanding clause to evict people from encampments entrenches women and gender-diverse people in unsafe and invisible forms of homelessness. The lack of appropriate alternative accommodation options is more pertinent for women and gender-diverse people who avoid mainstream shelters due to a lack of gender-specific supports and risk to their safety.

For Indigenous people finding shelter in encampments, the use of the notwithstanding clause to evict people from encampments represents an exercise of colonial policies that violate their rights to exercise their agency and self-determination to find sustenance and safety on their homelands.

2.     It would undermine the rule of law.

The Charter lays out consequences for governments, when they do not respect the rights of people living in Canada. To ignore these consequences is to undermine the rule of law.

We urge our elected officials to demonstrate their commitment to respect and uphold the right to housing and the Charter rights of all Ontarians through the following actions:

• The Ontario mayors must rescind their letter to the premier asking the government to use the notwithstanding clause.
• The Ontario premier must retract his invitation to mayors to ask the government to use the notwithstanding clause, and instead provide funding to municipalities to increase services and housing supports.  
•  All governments must focus their efforts on finding solutions that meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness while respecting their rights and dignity.

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Joint statement by:

Canadian Centre for Housing Rights – a registered charitable organization, working to advance the right to adequate housing in Canada. We work at the intersection of human rights and housing, providing free services to renters facing evictions and human rights violations to remain housed, providing education and training about housing rights across Canada, and advancing rights-based housing policy through research, policy development, advocacy, and law reform.

National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network – a movement of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples who are dedicated to improving the living situations of Indigenous women and girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse persons across Turtle Island and ending incidents of becoming unsheltered. All members have the lived experience of needing adequate shelter and a place to call home.

National Right to Housing Network (NRHN) – a broad-based, grassroots civil society network established to fully realize the human right to housing for all in Canada. Launched in February 2020, NRHN is a key resource in guiding Canada’s human rights-based oversight mechanisms—introduced under the National Housing Strategy Act (NHSA) —to address systemic housing inequities which exacerbates the housing and homelessness crisis across the country. Our network of over 2,000 organizational and individual partners work to hold the government accountable and ensure that their human rights commitments made under the NHSA are meaningfully realized.

Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network – an organization working to advance the diverse voices of women, girls, gender-diverse lived experts, and their allies to lead transformative, gender-specific solutions that reduce and end housing precarity and homelessness through adopting human rights and intersectional feminism approaches. ​​

NATIONAL

• Federal government releases Blueprint for a Renters’ Bill of Rights 
  
  The federal government released a new Blueprint for a Renters’ Bill of Rights, which includes a range of measures that aim to improve fairness, equality, access and affordability for renters. It also makes clear that all levels of government are responsible for fulfilling the right to housing for renters. However, it lacks critical accountability and enforcement mechanisms. CCHR shared our key takeaways, concerns and ongoing advocacy actions related to the blueprint. 
   
• Statistics Canada releases new data on housing needs and conditions  
  
  Statistics Canada released the 2022 Canadian Housing Survey results, which highlight ongoing affordability challenges across the country. Rates of core housing need returned to pre-pandemic levels, following a decrease due to pandemic-related financial benefits. Twenty-two per cent of renters were in core housing need (compared to six per cent of homeowners), with Indigenous (18 per cent) and racialized (14 per cent) households facing the highest rates of core housing need. Canadians reporting financial difficulty due to housing costs nearly doubled from 2018 to 2022.  
  
• National Housing Council announces review panel on homelessness among women and gender-diverse people 
  
  The National Housing Council announced a review panel on Canada’s failure to prevent and eliminate homelessness amongst women and gender-diverse people. The panel will include written and oral hearings, prioritizing people with lived experience and groups with expertise in human rights and housing. The panel appointed three members who will lead the review and is developing terms of reference. The National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network and Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network have developed a toolkit to support community participation in the panel. 
  
• Report shows rents are far outpacing wages across the country 
  
  The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report examining wages needed for households to be able to afford rent without sacrificing other basic needs, known as the “rental wage.” The report examined nearly 800 neighbourhoods across the country and found that the rental wage was significantly higher than the minimum wage in every province (up to double for two-bedroom apartments in British Columbia and Nova Scotia). The report calls for modern rent controls, collective bargaining rights for renters and public funding for non-market housing in light of rapidly rising rents and the increasing financialization of housing. 
  
  

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PROVINCIAL / TERRITORIAL 

Nova Scotia 

• Government proposes rent cap extension, while opposition calls to close fixed-term lease loophole 
  
  Nova Scotia has proposed to extend its five per cent rent increase cap (currently in place until the end of 2025) until the end of 2027. The government has also proposed to decrease the timelines for rental arrears evictions. The opposition NDP criticized the announcement and tabled a private members bill to close the loop on fixed-term leases, which leaves renters vulnerable to rent increases above the five per cent cap. 

Prince Edward Island 

• Landlords push back against rent increase guideline, while rents outpace inflation 
  
  Prince Edward Island announced that its 2025 rent increase guideline will be 2.3 per cent, however landlords can apply for an increase of up to 5.3 per cent. While some landlords have pushed back against the application of the rent increase guideline to both occupied and vacant units, claiming that it decreases rental construction, the opposition Green Party noted that investment in the construction sector has recently increased. At the same time, data shows that rent increases on PEI have outpaced the rate of inflation in recent years. 

Ontario  

• Report shows savings generated through short-term rental regulations 
  
  McGill University Professor Dr. David Wachsmuth released a report quantifying the impact of short-term rentals (STR) on housing affordability and rental prices across Ontario. The report shows that STR growth has led to significant rent increases, costing Ontarians $1.6 billion in additional rent since 2017. Meanwhile, current STR regulations have saved renters more than $1 billion annually. Municipalities with principal residence restrictions experienced rent increases that were 3.3 per cent lower than those without such restrictions. If expanded across Ontario, principal residence restrictions could save renters an additional $572 million annually. Similar outcomes were found in British Columbia.  

Saskatchewan 

• Saskatchewan rents rising fastest across the country 
  
  Despite having some of the lowest rents in the country, rents in Saskatchewan rose faster than in any other province year over year, increasing by up to 18.4 per cent for a two-bedroom apartment in Saskatoon. Some landlords cited the need to increase rents due to increasing operating costs, such as property tax, utilities and maintenance. However, research shows a steep rise in the proportion of financialized landlords in Saskatchewan, with up to 70 times more corporate-owned rental units than in Manitoba. The research suggests that the lack of rent regulations in Saskatchewan attracts corporate landlords and contributes to rapidly increasing rents.  

British Columbia  

• Report shows need for significant expansion of non-market housing to improve affordability 
  
  The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report calling for British Columbia to build 250,000 non-market rental units over ten years to improve affordability and address wealth inequality. The report outlines the impact of the housing affordability crisis on the provincial economy and proposes several policy recommendations for all levels of government, including tax reforms, zoning changes, renter protections and the expansion of new programs, such as the Rental Protection Fund. 

Yukon 

• Judge strikes down legislation that allowed evictions with only five days’ notice 
  
  A Yukon judge struck down a section of the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act that allowed for evictions with just five days’ notice. The judge cited that such evictions could cause “extraordinary psychological suffering,” infringing on the right to security of the person outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Legal and community advocates have long advocated for changes to the legislation, which aims to address community safety concerns without involving the police. The rest of the legislation remains in place.  

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MUNICIPAL / LOCAL 

• Ontario municipalities implementing stronger renter protections 
  
  Municipalities across Ontario are implementing bylaws that seek to strengthen protections for renters. Following Hamilton and Toronto, London recently adopted a new renovictions bylaw, which requires landlords to obtain a renovation license and report stating the need for a unit to be vacant for renovations to proceed. While the bylaw aims to deter bad faith renovictions, some councilors and advocates called for it to be strengthened through more substantial penalties for landlords and additional supports for displaced renters. Meanwhile, Brampton’s rental licensing pilot program, aimed at addressing rental housing maintenance and safety issues, has led to 4,700 inspections and over 600 penalty notices. Despite some landlord opposition to the program, councilors noted the program’s success in identifying and addressing rental housing issues.  

NATIONAL

• Federal government launches the Canada Public Land Bank
  
  On August 28, the federal government launched its Public Land Bank. This new initiative is part of the Public Lands for Homes Plan, which aims to address the housing shortage by leasing federal lands to housing developers. The government unveiled an initial list of 56 federal properties that are available for affordable housing development. A request for development proposals has already been issued on five properties, and the federal government has also launched a public consultation to explore housing solutions that can inform current and future versions of the initiative. By making this information readily available and streamlining the development process, the government hopes to accelerate the delivery of new housing units and better meet the growing demand for affordable housing across the country. However, advocates have noted the need to prioritize non-market, community housing to achieve the greatest impact. 
  
  
• Putting short-term rentals back into the affordable housing stock
  
  A new Statistics Canada report reveals that over 100,000 short-term rentals (STRs) could be used for long-term rental housing. Despite representing only one per cent of Canada’s total housing stock, the total number of STRs has increased by 60 per cent since 2017 and the number of STRs renting out entire homes has grown by 80 per cent. Airbnb argued that the proportion of STRs is too negligible to impact housing availability and affordability. While the Statistics Canada report does not explore the impact of STR growth on affordability, Fairbnb says it directly affects vacancy rates and supply. Putting STRs back in the long-term housing market could potentially raise the national vacancy rate from 1.5 to 2.4 per cent. In Nova Scotia and P.E.I., municipalities have recently adopted new regulations to restrict the use of entire homes as STRs.
  
  
• Provinces and municipalities exploring solutions as students face severe housing issues across the country 
  
  As students across the country prepare for a new academic year, they also have to contend with significant housing challenges. In British Columbia, 70 per cent of students are financially unstable, with 44 per cent unable to afford basic needs such as housing and food. Students in Saskatchewan are also facing severe rental housing issues, with student housing at capacity and very few affordable options available in the market. Similar situations are unfolding in Calgary, Ottawa, and Moncton. These trends highlight a broader problem affecting student well-being and academic success. Many institutions are overwhelmed by the demand for on-campus housing, and the shortage is putting additional pressure on students already dealing with financial strains. Governments across Canada are taking steps to find solutions to the crisis and accelerate the development of student housing. In British Columbia, Premier David Eby committed $300 million to build over 1,500 new student residences at the University of British Columbia. In Quebec, a new consortium led by UTILE is using prefabricated construction methods to address the student housing shortage. This initiative, which involves collaborations between construction companies and housing organizations, aims to mitigate delays and reduce costs associated with traditional construction. 
   
  
• Tiny homes and modular housing at the forefront of the fight against homelessness  
  
  To help quickly create temporary and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness, the use of tiny homes and modular housing is on the rise across jurisdictions. At the federal level, the government is setting aside $500 million for developers that use modular or prefabricated construction techniques, which is expected to save 20 per cent of building costs while speeding up development by 20 to 50 per cent. In Nova Scotia, several municipalities are opening temporary shelter villages with self-contained tiny homes and on-site services to support individuals experiencing homelessness. In Saint John, the City is piloting a similar project which uses upcycled trailers to provide fully equipped studios on wheels to the homeless population. In Quebec and Ontario, local governments have chosen modular construction to create more transitional housing. The City of Montreal recently launched a pilot project to provide 60 modular housing units of different sizes for people experiencing homelessness who are also on a social housing waitlist. The City of Peterborough was recently recognized for its Modular Bridge Housing Community project, which was successful in transitioning people faster into permanent housing. 
  
  

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PROVINCIAL / TERRITORIAL 

British Columbia

• B.C. Human Rights Commissioner report highlights housing as a top issue
  
  The office of the B.C. Human Rights Commissioner released a report highlighting human rights issues people face when accessing social services, particularly in the justice, healthcare and child welfare systems. Unaffordable and inadequate housing was found to be the leading human rights issue, particularly for women and girls facing violence. The report states that B.C. residents face the highest rate of unaffordable housing in the country and recognizes that thousands of people have been forced into homelessness as a result. The report explores how these disparities and systemic inequalities affect marginalized communities, and proposes recommendations to address these inequalities and improve outcomes for impacted communities.  
  
  
• B.C. court overturns eviction of social housing tenant who owed $45 in unpair rent
  
  In a recent decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned an eviction order for a social housing renter who owed $45 in unpaid rent. The renter received disability assistance and rent was paid directly to the housing provider by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. While the Ministry was responsible for the arrears on rent, the renter had since paid the difference directly to the housing provider but was still served a one-month eviction notice in September 2023. The renter’s eviction had been upheld by lower courts, but the appeal court found the decision “patently unreasonable”, highlighting the lack of proportionality in the Residential Tenancy Branch’s decision.
  
  
• Housing Minister to review above guideline rent increase rules
  
  A recent ruling by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) allowed a landlord to impose a 23.5 per cent rent increase beyond the 3.5 per cent annual limit. The RTB decision came in response to the landlord’s attempt to recover losses due to an increase in variable mortgage rates. While rent increases are capped annually in B.C., a regulation allows for extraordinary rent increases for unforeseen home financing increases. However, this regulation has been rarely used and previous court decisions have often rejected landlords’ claims to recoup mortgage financing losses. Advocates from the B.C. Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre and the Vancouver Tenants Union criticized the ruling and expressed concern that it could encourage landlords to shift the financial risk of their investment onto renters. They are calling on the provincial government to remove the regulation. In response, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon recently announced that his Ministry will review the policy.   
  
  

NOVA scotia

• Changes coming to the HRM Charter to increase housing supply 
  
  The Nova Scotia government is amending Halifax’s Charter to accelerate housing development and address the city’s housing crisis. The provincial government is introducing new regulations that will help simplify zoning laws and expedite permit approvals. The amendments aim to remove bureaucratic barriers and streamline processes for new housing projects, and require the municipality to prioritize increasing housing supply in all its planning decisions. Changes to minimum planning requirements will now allow residential construction in most of the city, reduce the use of urban space for parking and permit manufactured housing in all residential areas.
  
  

ONTARIO

• Ontario mayors call on the province to tackle the homelessness and opioid crisis
  
  A recent report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) shows a significant rise in homeless encampments across Ontario, with over 1,400 homeless encampments last year. An initial provincial estimate indicated that the unhoused population is close to 234,000 people, however the province later walked back these estimates, but failed to provide an official number. AMO released a follow up report proposing recommendations to urgently address homelessness in the province. Ontario’s Big City Mayors endorsed these recommendations and launched a campaign calling on the provincial and federal governments to increase support and resources, including by creating a dedicated ministry to address the intertwined issues of homelessness, addiction, and mental health. While the province did not respond to these recommendations, it announced $378 million to create 19 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs, which will include up to 375 supportive housing units. At the same time, it introduced a new policy to ban safe consumption sites near schools, which will result in the closure of more than half of these sites. The Ontario NDP and Liberals, along with the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, mental health advocates and shelter providers condemned the province’s approach and argue that restricting safe consumption sites could undermine harm reduction strategies, given the complexities of addiction and recovery.
  
  
• Ontario’s new planning policy to spur housing intensification 
  
  The Ontario government introduced new planning rules aimed at increasing its supply of affordable housing following multiple rounds of public consultation. Under the updated Provincial Planning Statement (PPS), municipalities are required to set minimum housing targets to increase residential development and reach the province’s goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031. The new PPS also emphasizes streamlining approval processes and reducing bureaucratic delays to expedite construction. The new PPS promotes a balance of housing densification and intensification by requiring the development of a wide range of housing options, encouraging transit-supportive housing and guaranteeing minimal land servicing for the first phase of housing development projects. In addition, it focuses on affordable housing development for lower and moderate incomes, however its definition for affordability will not address the needs of those in greatest housing need. While many stakeholders welcome the new approach as a necessary step to tackle the housing crisis, some environmental groups and advocates have expressed concerns about potential challenges in implementation and the impact of the new directives on urban sprawl.
  
  
• Wins and losses of advocates and municipalities to address rising renovictions 
  
  Since 2017, the number of eviction notices issued in Ontario for renovations, demolitions, or conversions has tripled. Across the province, renter groups are protesting renovictions, and municipalities are following suit by exploring local renter protection initiatives. In Cambridge, renters are rallying to prevent a mass renoviction at their apartment complex. Renters in Guelph are also organizing to advocate for stronger municipal bylaws to address renovictions. Both renter groups are supported by ACORN Ontario, which played a critical role in the adoption of a renoviction bylaw in Hamilton, Ottawa, London and Toronto are now considering new legislation aimed at curbing renovictions, modeled after Hamilton’s bylaw. Guelph’s mayor has also issued a call for action on a renoviction bylaw, reflecting growing local concerns about housing stability. At the federal level, the NDP unveiled a proposal to ban renovictions and fixed-term leases that often lead to instability for renters. 
  

QUEBEC

• Housing Minister unveils new housing strategy
  
  Quebec’s Housing Minister recently unveiled the province’s long-awaited housing strategy, which focuses on increasing housing supply and improving affordability. The strategy aims to create 560,000 new housing units and introduces various measures to support low- and moderate-income families and accelerate housing development. Both renter and landlord groups expressed reservations about the strategy’s focus on new construction. FRAPRU and RCLALQ criticized the strategy for its failure to address ongoing issues in the rental market and its lack of inclusion of social and deeply affordable housing, while the Association des Propriétaires du Quebec argue that the strategy overlooks financial challenges related to repairs and maintenance faced by existing rental property owners. Concerns were also raised about the rigidity of urban planning rules and whether the proposed measures are sufficient. 
   

Yukon

• Government releases report on review of the RLTA
  
  The Government of Yukon released a new report summarizing feedback from a review of its Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (RLTA). The report reflects input from various stakeholders, including renters, landlords, and community organizations, on issues related to rental housing regulations. Key recommendations include clearer rules on eviction processes, improved protections for renters, and better mechanisms for resolving disputes, reflecting some of CCHR’s recommendations. The report aims to guide future legislative changes and ensure that the RLTA effectively balances the interests of both renters and property owners to improve the rental housing system in Yukon.
   

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MUNICIPAL / LOCAL 

• Municipal plans for sanctioned encampments
  
  Several municipalities across Canada are implementing encampment response plans that seek to support unhoused residents, rather than criminalize homelessness. Hamilton is allowing encampments, provided they are not in proximity to certain social infrastructures, and is now considering designating sanctioned encampment sites with temporary shelters and on-site harm reduction services. Guelph recently determined that 90 per cent of its land could be suitable for sanctioned encampments, restricting the remaining 10 per cent. Similarly, Saint John is implementing a three-tier system of zones where encampments may be allowed, as part of its new municipal housing strategy. Halifax has already designated six sites for sanctioned encampments and is now developing a new Code of Conduct to help mitigate conflicts between encampment residents and the broader community. In each city, advocates have applauded the government’s initiatives and welcomed a more compassionate approach to encampments.
  

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On September 16, 2024, the federal government released a Blueprint for a Renters’ Bill of Rights – an important measure that could move the needle on Canada’s housing affordability crisis by establishing national standards that protect housing stability and affordability for renters across the country. 

The Renters’ Bill of Rights comes at a critical time, as Canada remains in the midst of an escalating housing crisis, where renters face soaring rental costs, few affordable options, and increasing levels of housing insecurity. Without adequate and consistent national standards to protect against excessive rents, arbitrary and unnecessary evictions, renovictions, disrepair, discrimination, and many other issues, renters are increasingly facing housing precarity and homelessness.  

Landlord and tenant matters in Canada are governed by provincial and territorial residential tenancy legislation, and as a result, the rights and protections afforded to renters vary widely across Canada. For example, in half of Canada’s provinces and territories, rent increases are not regulated at all. In others, rent increases are regulated to a certain extent, but the rules do not apply to all renters, leaving many, in particular long-standing tenants, vulnerable to economically-motivated evictions.   

Unequal housing laws across the country have contributed to a crisis where renters are struggling like never before. Building more market-rate housing will not help them right now when they need it most, but implementing national standards to protect the affordability and security of their current homes will. With the Renters’ Bill of Rights, the federal government has seized a critical opportunity to ensure that every renter in Canada is afforded the same baseline rights when it comes to their housing.  

Over the past few months, the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) collaborated with housing advocates and leaders from across Canada to develop our key recommendations for what a strong Renters Bill of Rights must include. Below, we have outlined these key recommendations, our assessment of the government’s blueprint, and highlighted upcoming opportunities for communities to support the establishment of strong standard protections for renters across the country. 

Recommended principles and scope

In consultation with housing advocates and leaders across the country, we developed the following principles and scope of rights and protections that would ensure a comprehensive, impactful, and robust Renters’ Bill of Rights

Principles 

Three core principles must guide the development and implementation of standard renter protections across the country: 

1. Taking a human rights-based approach
   A meaningful Renters’ Bill of Rights must align with the federal government’s commitment to implement the right to housing, which extends to provincial, territorial, and municipal governments. It should also recognize the role that housing providers must play in upholding the right to housing for renters. Moreover, the Renters’ Bill of Rights must be complemented with concurrent actions and investments that recognize housing as a human right, rather than an investment vehicle, including dedicated resources to increase the supply of deeply affordable and community housing, and taking seriously the need to address the root causes and impacts of the financialization of housing.
   
2. Ensuring enforcement and accountability 
   Some provincial and territorial legislation already provides many of the standards and protections that should be included in the Renters’ Bill of Rights. However, without robust enforcement and accountability mechanisms (including sufficient resourcing), renters do not benefit from those protections in practice. A meaningful Renters’ Bill of Rights should include meaningful accountability mechanisms that uphold renters’ rights. This should include measures that prioritize support for those in greatest housing need and access to justice for low and moderate income renters. 
   
3. Protecting all renters
   All renters must be afforded equal standard protections under the Renters’ Bill of Rights, regardless of where they live, their type of tenancy, or the type of rental housing that they occupy. However, there may be some specific circumstances where different rules may apply. 

Scope 

Building on these core principles, our specific recommendations are presented in six groupings that reflect the elements of the right to housing, as well as the principles of equity, equality, and access to justice:

Input from housing advocates and organizations

CCHR and our partners have emphasized to the federal government the importance of developing the Renters’ Bill of Rights in consultation with renter communities, advocates and civil society to ensure these protections truly address the needs of renters and reflect their voices.  

In August 2024, CCHR surveyed tenant groups and housing organizations from across Canada, collecting their input on the rights that should be included in the Renters’ Bill of Rights, based on the list of rights outlined above. 

We received over 50 responses from eight jurisdictions across the country. The vast majority of respondents strongly endorsed the above list of rights, and provided some helpful context and recommendations around the importance of these rights and actions that governments could take to implement them. Common themes from the survey results reflected the need for a comprehensive suite of renter protections with robust accountability and enforcement mechanisms, including: 

• Strong rent regulation and protection against eviction, especially as it relates to renovictions. 
• Clear standards and definitions of affordability, habitability, accessibility, and cultural adequacy. 
• Funding to support landlord compliance with habitability standards and accommodations for accessibility and cultural adequacy to ensure costs are not downloaded onto renters. 
• Strong anti-discrimination laws to cover all protected human rights grounds, including prohibiting discriminatory screening practices to select renters. 
• Legal support for renters, including accessible channels to report issues without fear of retaliation. 
• A public database of rental housing ownership, rent prices, property conditions, maintenance requests, compliance, etc.
• Clear, accessible information about landlord and renter rights and responsibilities, including education and training. 
• Well-resourced tribunals to investigate, monitor, and enforce landlord compliance, including timely dispute resolution, regular inspections, and strong penalties for violations. 
• Measures to address the financialization of housing, including greater investment in non-market housing and limits on investment properties. 
• Annual review of the Renters’ Bill of Rights to evaluate its effectiveness. 

While respondents were overwhelmingly supportive of stronger renter protections across the country, some also expressed skepticism around the likelihood of their provincial or territorial government adopting and/or enforcing these protections. To be sure, the implementation of the Renters’ Bill of Rights will require cooperation between different levels of government. However, we have reason to be optimistic that this can be achieved, as this type of intergovernmental cooperation is not unprecedented. For example, over the course of 20 years after it was introduced by the federal government, the National Building Code was adopted by every province and territory as a standard for building design and construction.  

Given the context, it will be incumbent on the federal government to adopt strategies that will ensure provinces and territories adopt and uphold these critical renter protections at a time when Canadians need them most. Likewise, renter advocates and organizations have a key role to play in encouraging adoption, and holding governments accountable for their responsibility to ensure equal and consistent rights for renters across the country.

The Renters’ Bill of Rights blueprint 

The release of the Renters’ Bill of Rights blueprint is a significant step in the right direction, signaling that the federal government understands that uneven and precarious protections for renters are inadequate, and that renters are suffering as a result. The blueprint outlines a range of important measures that if implemented consistently across the country, would improve fairness, equality, access, and affordability for renters, including:  

• protections against excessive rent increases and forced evictions
• proportionality in renting practices (e.g., considering fairness and timing related to rent increases, evictions, and other renting issues)  
• continued tenancies in the event of a unit change 
• renter relocation assistance in cases of displacement 
• accessible rental information 
• measures to address discrimination 
• standards for rental housing quality 
• compulsory landlord training 
• shifting the onus of proof to landlords to end tenancy agreements  
• legal support and education for renters  
• improved tribunal processes and authority to impose substantial penalties 

Importantly, the blueprint is framed around the shared responsibilities of federal, provincial, and territorial governments to advance the right to adequate housing, including through sufficient investments in non-market, affordable housing.  The federal government will encourage uptake by provinces and territories through tying the Renters’ Bill Rights to a new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund. Provinces and territories can only access the $5 billion available through this fund if they implement measures from the Renters’ Bill of Rights and Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights.

In the coming months, it will be critical that they follow through to ensure the adoption of these standards by providing strong incentives, direction and accountability mechanisms. While it is encouraging to see that provinces and territories will be required to report on their progress to advance renters’ rights, it is currently unclear what mechanisms will be in place to ensure that these essential standards will be enforced across the country and we look forward to hearing more on this. 

The Renters’ Bill of Rights is the most concrete way that governments can improve housing stability and prevent homelessness for those most at risk right now. Its adoption across the country must become a key priority for the government. Commitments to build more market-based housing as a strategy to address the affordability issues may sound logical, but the reality is these measures are simply not an adequate response to the crisis that is ravaging lower income communities. It is well understood that in the absence of robust affordability requirements, new private market housing will not be affordable, especially for low- and moderate-income residents. Studies have shown that increasing supply does not meaningfully lower rents in existing homes, and in some cases, can have the opposite effect.

Opportunities for communities to advocate for a robust Renters’ Bill of Rights 

In the coming months, we hope to see strong incentives for the adoption of the Renters’ Bill of Rights alongside government-led public consultations. CCHR views the Renters’ Bill of Rights as a critical opportunity to ensure there are equal protections for renters across the country – something that should have been in place a long time ago.  

We will be organizing a series of public workshops across the country this fall to raise awareness of its importance and mobilize communities to advocate for a robust Renters’ Bill of Rights to address the challenges and inequities facing renters across Canada, with concrete actions that hold all levels of government accountable for upholding renters’ rights.

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Ce qu’une Charte des droits des locataires solide pourrait signifier pour les locataires au Canada

Le 16  septembre  2024, le gouvernement fédéral a publié un Plan pour une Charte des droits des locataires, une mesure importante qui pourrait faire avancer le droit au logement au Canada en établissant des normes nationales qui protègent la stabilité et l’abordabilité du logement pour les locataires partout au pays. 

La Charte des droits des locataires arrive à un moment critique, alors que le Canada est en pleine crise du logement, avec des loyers en forte hausse, peu d’options abordables et une insécurité du logement croissante. En l’absence de normes nationales adéquates et cohérentes pour se protéger contre les loyers excessifs, les évictions arbitraires et inutiles, le délabrement, les rénovictions, la discrimination et bien d’autres défis, les locataires sont de plus en plus confrontés à la précarité dans le logement et à l’itinérance.  

Les questions relatives aux ententes entre propriétaires et aux locataires au Canada sont régies par les lois provinciales et territoriales sur la location résidentielle et, par conséquent, les droits et les protections accordés aux locataires varient considérablement à travers le Canada. Par exemple, dans la moitié des provinces et des territoires, les augmentations de loyer ne sont pas du tout réglementées. Dans d’autres, les augmentations de loyer sont réglementées dans une certaine mesure, mais les règles ne s’appliquent pas à tous les locataires, ce qui rend nombre d’entre eux vulnérables aux évictions motivées par des raisons économiques, en particulier les locataires de longue date.   

Les disparités entre les lois sur le logement d’une province à l’autre ont contribué à une crise où les locataires rencontrent des difficultés sans précédent. Construire davantage de logements au prix du marché ne les aidera pas maintenant, au moment où ils en ont le plus besoin, mais la mise en œuvre de normes nationales visant à protéger l’abordabilité et la sécurité de leurs logements actuels le fera. Avec la Charte des droits des locataires, le gouvernement fédéral a saisi une occasion cruciale de garantir que chaque locataire au Canada bénéficie des mêmes droits de base en matière de logement.  

Au cours des derniers mois, le Centre Canadien du droit au logement (CCDL) a collaboré avec des défenseurs et des experts en droit au logement de partout au Canada pour élaborer un ensemble de recommandations sur ce que doit inclure une solide Charte des droits des locataires. Ci-dessous, nous avons décrit ces principales recommandations, notre évaluation du plan directeur du gouvernement et mis en lumière les opportunités pour le milieu communautaire de soutenir l’établissement de normes minimales de protection pour les locataires du Canada. 

Principes recommandés et portée

En consultation avec les défenseurs et les experts en droit au logement, nous avons proposé les principes suivants et défini leur champ d’application aux droits et protections qui garantiraient une Charte des droits des locataires complète, efficace et solide. 

Principes 

Trois principes fondamentaux doivent guider l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre de mesures de protection standards pour les locataires Canadiens  : 

1. Adopter une approche fondée sur les droits de la personne
   Une Charte des droits des locataires forte doit s’aligner sur l’engagement du gouvernement fédéral à mettre en œuvre le droit au logement, qui s’étend aux gouvernements provinciaux, territoriaux et municipaux. Elle devrait également reconnaître le rôle que doivent jouer les propriétaires de logements pour faire respecter le droit au logement des locataires. En outre, la Charte des droits des locataires doit être accompagnée simultanément de mesures politiques, juridiques et financières qui reconnaissent le logement comme un droit humain, et non comme un véhicule d’investissement. Cela implique de dédier des ressources pour accroître l’offre de logements abordables et communautaires, tout en prenant en compte la nécessité de s’attaquer aux causes fondamentales et aux effets de la financiarisation du logement. 
   
2. Assurer l’application de la loi et la reddition de comptes 
   Certaines lois provinciales et territoriales respectent déjà bon nombre des normes et des protections prévues par la Charte des droits des locataires. Toutefois, sans mécanismes solides d’application de la loi et de reddition de comptes (incluant l’allocation de ressources suffisantes), les locataires ne bénéficient pas réellement de ces protections. Une véritable Charte des droits des locataires devrait inclure des mécanismes de responsabilisation efficaces qui respectent les droits des locataires. Elle devrait inclure des mesures qui soutiennent en priorité les personnes ayant le plus besoin de logement et l’accès à la justice pour les locataires à revenus faibles et modérés. 
   
3. Protéger tous les locataires 
   Tous les locataires doivent bénéficier des mêmes protections standards en vertu de la Charte des droits des locataires, quel que soit leur lieu de résidence, leur type de bail ou le type de logement locatif qu’ils occupent. Toutefois, il peut y avoir des circonstances particulières dans lesquelles des règles différentes peuvent s’appliquer.

Portée 

S’appuyant sur ces principes fondamentaux, nos recommandations particulières sont déclinées en six points qui reflètent les éléments du droit au logement, ainsi que les principes d’équité, d’égalité et d’accès à la justice  : 

Contribution des défenseurs et des organismes du droit au logement 

Le CCDL et ses partenaires ont fait valoir au gouvernement fédéral l’importance d’élaborer la Charte des droits des locataires en consultation avec les groupes de locataires, les défenseurs du droit au logement et la société civile pour garantir que ces protections répondent véritablement aux besoins des locataires et reflètent leur opinion.  

En août 2024, le CCDL a sondé des groupes de locataires et des organismes de défense du droit au logement de partout au Canada, et a recueilli leurs commentaires sur les droits qui devraient être inclus dans la Charte, suivant la liste des droits décrite plus haut. 

Nous avons reçu plus de 50 réponses en provenance de huit provinces et territoires. La grande majorité des répondants ont fortement approuvé la liste de droits proposée par le CCDL et ont fourni des informations sur leur contexte et des recommandations utiles sur l’importance de ces droits et sur les mesures que leurs gouvernements pourraient prendre pour les mettre en œuvre. Les thèmes communs issus des résultats de l’enquête reflètent la nécessité d’une série complète de mesures de protection des locataires, dotées de mécanismes de responsabilisation et d’application de la loi robustes, notamment : 

• une réglementation stricte des loyers et une protection contre les évictions, particulièrement en cas de rénoviction; 

• des normes et définitions claires en matière d’abordabilité, d’habitabilité, d’accessibilité et d’adéquation culturelle; 

• du financement pour soutenir la conformité des logements aux normes d’habitabilité et aux mesures d’adaptation en matière d’accessibilité et d’adéquation culturelle afin de garantir que ces coûts ne soient pas à la charge des locataires; 

• des lois anti-discrimination strictes couvrant tous les motifs de protection des droits de la personne, y compris l’interdiction des pratiques de sélection des locataires discriminatoires; 

• un soutien juridique pour les locataires, incluant des canaux de communication accessibles pour signaler les problèmes sans crainte de représailles; 

• une base de données publique sur les propriétaires de logements locatifs, les prix des loyers, l’état des propriétés, les demandes d’entretien, la conformité aux normes de salubrité, etc.; 

• des informations claires et accessibles sur les droits et responsabilités des propriétaires et des locataires, y compris des formations et des ressources éducatives; 

• des tribunaux dotés de ressources suffisantes pour enquêter, surveiller et faire respecter la conformité des logements, y compris une résolution rapide des différends, des inspections régulières et de lourdes sanctions en cas d’infractions; 

• des mesures visant à lutter contre la financiarisation du logement, notamment en investissant davantage dans le logement social et communautaire et en limitant les investissements immobiliers; 

• une révision annuelle de la Charte des droits des locataires pour évaluer son efficacité. 

Bien que les répondants soient largement favorables à des mesures de protection plus fortes pour tous les locataires du Canada, certains ont également exprimé des doutesquant à la probabilité que leur gouvernement provincial ou territorial adopte ou applique ces mesures de protection. Il est certain que la mise en œuvre de la Charte des droits des locataires nécessitera une coopération étroite entre les différents paliers de gouvernement. Nous avons cependant des raisons d’être optimistes quant à la possibilité d’y parvenir, car ce type de coopération intergouvernementale n’est pas sans précédent. Par exemple, au cours des 20 années qui ont suivi son introduction par le gouvernement fédéral, le Code national du bâtiment a été adopté par chaque province et territoire comme standard de conception et de construction des bâtiments.  

Compte tenu du contexte actuel, il incombera au gouvernement fédéral d’adopter des stratégies qui garantiront que les provinces et les territoires adoptent et maintiennent ces protections essentielles pour les locataires à un moment où les Canadiens en ont le plus besoin. De même, les groupes et organismes de défense du droit au logement ont un rôle clé à jouer pour encourager l’adoption de ces protections et tenir les gouvernements responsables de leur devoir de garantir des droits égaux et cohérents pour tous les locataires du Canada. 

Plan pour une Charte des droits des locataires

La publication du Plan pour une Charte des droits des locataires constitue un pas en avant significatif, qui montre que le gouvernement fédéral comprend que des protections inégales et précaires pour les locataires sont inadéquates et que ces derniers en souffrent. Le plan présente une série de mesures importantes qui, si elles étaient mises en œuvre de manière cohérente dans tout le pays, amélioreraient l’équité, l’égalité, l’abordabilité et un meilleuraccès au logement pour les locataires, notamment les mesures suivantes :  

• des protections contre les augmentations excessives des loyers et les évictions forcées; 

• la proportionnalité dans les pratiques de gestion locative (par exemple, en tenant compte des mesures d’équité et de la fréquence des augmentations de loyer ou des évictions et autres problèmes de location);  

• le maintien des baux en cas de changement d’unité; 

• une aide au déménagement en cas de déplacement des locataires; 

• des informations sur le logement faciles d’accès; 

• des mesures pour lutter contre la discrimination; 

• des normes de qualité pour les logements locatifs; 

• une formation obligatoire pour les propriétaires; 

• un transfert du fardeau de la preuve aux propriétaires pour la résiliation de bail;  

• un soutien juridique et une formation pour les locataires;  

• l’amélioration des procédures au tribunal et du pouvoir d’imposer des sanctions substantielles. 

Il est important de noter que le plan directeur s’articule autour des responsabilités communes des gouvernements fédéral, provinciaux et territoriaux pour faire progresser le droit à un logement décent, notamment par des investissements suffisants dans le logement abordable et à but non-lucratif. Le gouvernement fédéral compte encourager l’adoption de cette mesure par les provinces et les territoires en liant la Charte des droits des locataires à un nouveau Fonds canadien pour les infrastructures liées au logement. Les provinces et territoires ne pourront accéder aux 5 milliards de dollars disponibles dans le cadre de ce fonds seulement s’ils mettent en œuvre les mesures contenues dans la Charte des droits des locataires et dans la Charte des droits des acheteurs d’une propriété. 

Dans les mois à venir, il sera essentiel que les gouvernements provinciaux et territoriaux prennent les mesures nécessaires pour garantir l’adoption de ces normes en fournissant des mesures incitatives, de l’orientation et des mécanismes de responsabilisation solides. Bien qu’il soit encourageant de constater que les provinces et territoires seront tenus de rendre compte de leurs progrès en lien avec l’avancement des droits des locataires, on ne sait pas encore quels mécanismes seront mis en place pour garantir que ces normes essentielles soient appliquées dans tout le pays et nous attendons avec intérêt d’en apprendre plus à ce sujet. 

La Charte des droits des locataires est le moyen le plus concret dont disposent les gouvernements pour améliorer la sécurité du logement et prévenir l’itinérance chez les personnes les plus vulnérables. Son adoption à l’échelle du pays doit devenir une priorité absolue pour le gouvernement. Les engagements visant à construire davantage de logements au prix du marché comme stratégie pour résoudre les problèmes d’abordabilité peuvent sembler logiques, mais la réalité est que ces mesures ne constituent tout simplement pas une réponse adéquate à la crise qui ravage les communautés à faible revenus. Il va de soi qu’en l’absence d’exigences rigoureuses en matière d’abordabilité, les logements neufs construits par le marché privé ne seront pas abordables, en particulier pour les résidents à revenus faibles et modérés. Des études ont montré que l’augmentation de l’offre ne réduit pas de manière significative les loyers des logements existants et, dans certains cas, peut avoir l’effet inverse.  

Opportunités pour le milieu communautaire de plaider en faveur d’une Charte des droits des locataires consistante 

Dans les mois à venir, nous espérons que l’adoption de la Charte des droits des locataires sera fortement encouragée, parallèlement aux consultations publiques qui seront menées par le gouvernement. Le CCDL considère la Charte des droits des locataires comme une occasion cruciale de garantir des protections égales pour les locataires à travers le pays, quelque chose qui aurait dû être mis en place il y a longtemps.  

Nous organiserons une série d’ateliers publics d’envergure nationale cet automne pour sensibiliser et mobiliser le milieu communautaire afin de plaider en faveur d’une Charte des droits des locataires solide pour relever les défis et les inégalités auxquels font face les locataires partout au Canada, avec des mesures concrètes qui tiennent tous les niveaux de gouvernement responsables quant au respect des droits des locataires. 

Toronto, ON – September 16, 2024 – Today, the federal government released a new Blueprint for a Renters’ Bill of Rights – a critical measure that could help address Canada’s housing affordability crisis by strengthening protections for renters across the country. 

The blueprint includes a range of important measures that aim to improve fairness, equality, access and affordability for renters. It also makes clear that the federal, provincial and territorial governments are all responsible for fulfilling the right to housing of all Canadians, which requires improving the renting system across the country. This includes adequately investing in affordable housing that meets the needs of renters. However, despite some reporting requirements, the blueprint falls short of providing strong direction and accountability mechanisms to ensure that provincial and territorial governments will fulfill their responsibilities.  

“It’s promising to see many measures in the Renters’ Bill of Rights blueprint that would help level the playing field between landlords and renters,” says Sara Beyer, Manager of Policy at the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR). “However, currently it lacks the strong federal direction needed to ensure that these critical protections for renters will actually be realized. Without requiring provinces and territories to amend their laws to ensure rents are well-regulated and that eviction is treated as a last resort, we’re concerned that the Renters’ Bill of Rights will be a missed opportunity to curb rising rental costs, and prevent evictions and homelessness.” 

Public opinion polls by Leger and Abacus Data from the past year show that an overwhelming majority of Canadians view the housing affordability crisis as a serious problem, yet they do not feel that our governments are taking the necessary steps to tackle the crisis. Likewise, in a recent survey conducted by CCHR of over 50 tenant groups and housing organizations across the country, the vast majority agree that strong renter protections are essential to tackling the housing affordability crisis. Yet, many are skeptical that their provincial or territorial government would enact any of the measures necessary to ensure renters can afford to stay in their homes and that they do not face excessive rent increases or unfair evictions.  

Renter protections vary significantly depending on where you live in the country. The Renters’ Bill of Rights provides a key opportunity for all levels of government to work together to ensure that all renters – no matter where they live – enjoy the same rights and protections, for which CCHR has long advocated. If the federal government gave the Renters’ Bill of Rights real teeth, it has the potential to make a meaningful impact on the housing affordability crisis and address systemic issues related to inadequate and disparate protections for renters across the country.

NATIONAL

• CCHR sends initial recommendations for the Renters’ Bill of Rights to the federal government 
  
  On July 17, the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) sent a letter to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, outlining recommended principles and scope for the Renters’ Bill of Rights (RBR), with input from renter-serving organizations and experts. We called for the development and implementation of the RBR to align with a rights-based approach, ensure enforcement and accountability measures, and protect all renters. Building on those key principles, we developed an initial list of rights that reflect the elements of adequate housing and that would provide a minimum level of protection, responding to the realities that renters face across the country. Stay tuned for our next steps to ensure the RBR can provide robust, comprehensive renter protections. 
  

• Call for proposals opens for the Tenant Protection Fund 
  
  The Justice Partnership and Innovation Program launched an anticipatory call for proposals for the new Tenant Protection Fund, announced as part of Canada’s Housing Plan in the federal government’s 2024 budget. The fund will provide $15 million over five years to help increase access to justice for renters across Canada by filling gaps in legal services, supports, and information. The fund includes two streams: public legal education and information (including research and policy development) and legal information and advice services. Applications are due October 1, 2024 and several information sessions are taking place over the summer. This fund is a critical opportunity to help advance the right to housing for renters through increased access to justice. 
  
  
• Additional funding available through the Housing Accelerator Fund   
  
  Municipalities that were unsuccessful in the first round of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) application process are now able to apply for the second round of funding. In its 2024 budget , the federal government committed an additional $400 million to HAF, which is estimated to produce 12,000 new homes over the next four years. Applicants must integrate best practices from the previous round of HAF, which focus on zoning requirements, use of public land, improved processes, and affordability.
  
  

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ATLANTIC CANADA

NOVA SCOTIA

• Housing support announced for Nova Scotians fleeing gender-based violence  
  
  The federal government is investing $11.3 million over four years in housing support for Nova Scotians escaping gender-based violence (GBV), which will be cost-matched by the province. The fund is estimated to benefit 400 families and will offer a flat rate based on family size. Eligibility requirements and the amount of financial support available through the fund will be reassessed in its second year, based on average market rates and household income. According to the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia, women in the province report higher rates of GBV than in other provinces, and the lack of access to safe, affordable housing is a key barrier to escaping abusive relationships. The intersections between GBV and housing insecurity were also examined in CCHR’s recent report, Nowhere To Go. 
  
  
• Opposition party calls for the establishment of a tenancy enforcement unit 
  
  Nova Scotia’s opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) has reissued a call for the government to establish a tenancy enforcement unit, which would provide accountability and enforcement for violations under the Residential Tenancies Act. The NDP introduced legislation last fall, and the government has received a consultant’s report on establishing such a unit, but no action has been taken to date. Meanwhile, legal aid services have seen a staggering increase in requests from renters facing tenancy issues, including renovictions, illegal fees, and unsafe living conditions. 
  

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

• New report shows that a high rate of former inmates have been released into homelessness 
  
  The John Howard Society released findings showing that 64 per cent of former inmates from the Provincial Correctional Centre were released into homelessness between April 2023 and March 2024. The organization cites the lack of transitional housing on P.E.I. as a major obstacle for former inmates transitioning out of the correctional system, along with intersecting barriers related to mental health and addiction issues, and barriers posed by having a criminal record. Despite the availability of funding to create transitional and other supportive housing, plans to develop a halfway house on P.E.I. two years ago were cancelled after community pushback. 
  
  
• Province is on track to exceed social housing targets 
  
  P.E.I. is on track to exceed its targets to build 560 new social housing units over the next five years. The province recorded 1,139 housing starts in 2023, which included 250 social housing units, well above the pace required to meet the target. Currently, P.E.I.’s stock of social housing represents approximately three per cent of its overall housing stock. This is below the national average of 3.5 per cent and well below the average level of seven per cent in other countries. Given the widespread need for affordable housing options, some housing advocates are calling on governments to prioritize social housing so it represents 20 per cent of the rental housing stock in Canada. P.E.I.’s current targets would bring the province’s social housing ratio to 3.3 per cent of its overall housing stock, while an additional 3,000 new social housing units would need to be built over five years to reach the seven per cent benchmark. 

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CENTRAL CANADA

ONTARIO

• More renters are disputing own-use eviction applications 
  
  Data from Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board show that “own-use” eviction applications – when a landlord or their family member wants to move into a rental unit – have increased by 85 per cent since 2020. At the same time, renter applications to dispute such evictions have quadrupled, leading to twice the number of fines for bad faith evictions in 2023 compared to 2022, though only 23 fines were issued. While landlord groups have signaled the need to move back into their properties due to high interest rates, renter advocates say the absence of vacancy control provides an incentive for landlords to evict long-term renters paying below market rates to bring in renters who can pay higher rents. As a result, many lower-income renters are left with few affordable options. 
  

QUEBEC

• Quebec renters are facing increasing rates of housing need and homelessness 
  
  Over 1,600 households across Quebec were still looking for housing after July 1, which is moving day in the province. Three hundred and seventy-nine of those households were in temporary housing provided by municipalities or relatives. Le Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) noted the lack of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income renters, alongside discrimination in the housing market, as key barriers affecting housing access, and called for more community housing, better renter protections, and a ban on short-term rentals. Meanwhile, new survey data shows that approximately 15 per cent of Montreal renters reported experiencing an episode of homelessness in 2024, up from 10 per cent in 2023. 
   

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WESTERN CANADA

MANITOBA

• Winnipeg targets vacant buildings to increase affordable housing 
  
  The City of Winnipeg is looking to leverage vacant properties to provide more affordable housing, which could include selling lots for $1 to non-profit housing providers and accelerating the city’s acquisition of vacant or dilapidated properties. Currently, the process to dispose of an unused property can be timely and delay affordable housing development. The Right to Housing Coalition in Manitoba supported the proposal, but called for the city to ensure that new affordable housing construction includes rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units for low-income families. The coalition estimates that Winnipeg needs 7,500 RGI units, plus 5,000 units for people experiencing homelessness. 
  
  
• Province is investigating mass evictions from an apartment building in Winnipeg 
  
  Following the sudden, mass eviction of renters in a Winnipeg apartment building, the Manitoba government is working to rehome residents, compensate them for lost belongings, and investigate the property owners. The investigation is being led by the Residential Tenancies Branch and could lead to substantive charges, which may include criminal charges. 
  

SASKATCHEWAN

• Saskatoon experts are hopeful the Housing Accelerator Fund will help address housing affordability 
  
  The City of Saskatoon was recently approved for $41.3 million under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), after approving zoning changes that will allow for greater density across the city. Advocates are hopeful that the new funding will help create more affordable housing, as the city is currently facing low vacancy rates and few affordable options. However, the funding is only expected to produce 300 new units each year, which is not enough to keep pace with demand. CCHR submitted a letter of support to Saskatoon City Council for the zoning changes required to access the HAF, highlighting the need to build and maintain an adequate supply of rent-geared-to-income, affordable, transitional, and supportive housing, alongside supports and protections for renters. 

Alberta

• Calgary announces new affordable housing initiative 
  
  The City of Calgary launched a new three-year, $60 million program as part of its Housing Capital Initiative to support charities, non-profits, and Indigenous organizations to build new or acquire existing affordable rental housing. The city would provide up to 30 per cent of project funding and aims to leverage funding from other levels of government. The funding requires projects to maintain below-market rents for at least 20 years, while projects that commit to longer-term affordability, lower rents, and faster timelines will be prioritized. Applications are open until October 10. 
  
  
• Edmonton calls for greater provincial funding to tackle homelessness 
  
  The City of Edmonton is calling on the provincial government to increase funding for affordable and supportive housing and coordinate with other levels of government to address rising rates of homelessness. In response, the Alberta government committed to reviewing a list of programs and services for which the city is seeking funding. However, some advocates expressed concern that the city is not taking responsibility for its role in tackling the homelessness crisis. According to Homeward Trust Edmonton, the city requires up to 1,700 supportive housing units to provide housing for people experiencing homelessness. 
  
  

British Columbia

• Province launches website to protect renters from bad-faith evictions 
  
  The B.C. government launched a new online portal on July 18, which aims to address bad-faith evictions when landlords falsely claim they need a rental unit for their personal use. The portal requires landlords to generate eviction notices for personal use and provide information about who will be taking over a unit. Renters will now have 30 days to dispute evictions (up from 15 days), and landlords must provide four months’ notice for personal-use evictions (up from two months). The portal will allow the government to conduct post-eviction compliance audits and track the frequency of personal-use evictions. Advocates welcomed the portal as an important data collection tool to help address the rising rate of no-fault evictions, while also calling for additional landlord accountability measures and vacancy control. 
  
  
• Province rejects Victoria’s request for vacancy control 
  
  For the third time in as many years, the B.C. government has rejected the City of Victoria’s request to implement vacancy control, citing concerns that it would deter rental housing development, despite evidence to the contrary. In response, the province noted its support for renters by limiting annual allowable rent increases below inflation and addressing renovictions. Meanwhile, rents for vacant units in Victoria were 41 per cent higher last year compared to those with ongoing tenancies. 
  

NATIONAL

• Federal government launches Co-operative Housing Development Program
  
  In early June, the federal government launched a $1.5 billion program to support the development of co-operative housing. The program was initially announced in the 2022 federal budget, with the goal of constructing over 6,000 new co-operative units. Co-operative housing is one of the few housing options that has historically provided long-term affordability outside the private market. The program is one of the most significant federal investments in non-market housing, following decades of underfunding. Co-operative housing providers will be able to apply for funding as of July 15, 2024.
  
  
• The Federal Housing Advocate sends new Annual Report to the Minister of Housing
  
  The Federal Housing Advocate’s annual report covers various key issues and actions its office undertook during 2023-2024, including the urgent need for non-market housing, financialization of housing and the harm it causes people in Canada, the right to housing of Indigenous people, and upholding the rights of people living in homeless encampments, among others. The Advocate made various recommendations on how the federal government can address these issues to realize the right to housing, such as by aligning the National Housing Strategy with the legislated purpose of the National Housing Strategy Act. The Advocate made it clear that the housing and homelessness situation in Canada has reached a crisis point and emphasized their role in listening to people on the front lines of the crisis and amplifying their voices to decision-makers.
  
  
• Federal committee studying the impact of investments on housing affordability and homelessness
  
  The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) is currently undertaking a study on the current state of housing affordability and homelessness across Canada. The study will explore the impact of federal investments in purpose-built rental, affordable, social, rent-geared-to-income, and co-operative housing between February 2006 and October 2015. In response to the committee’s request for submissions from the public, the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC) submitted key data showing that 90 per cent of the homes built through federal investments between 2001 and 2016 were for home ownership, while minimal rental housing was built during this period, which has contributed to the current housing crisis. CHEC also highlighted the insufficient reporting on federal housing data and a lack of transparency since the mid-1990s, which has made it difficult to track the number of units built and households assisted during that time. To address these issues, CHEC’s submission recommended several measures to improve federal housing reporting and transparency. The Social Housing and Human Rights Campaign also delivered a series of recommendations to expand and maintain social housing. 
  
  

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ATLANTIC CANADA

New brunswick

• Renters’ rights group releases housing policy priorities ahead of provincial election
  
  ACORN New Brunswick has released its policy platform ahead of the upcoming provincial election. The platform lays out a series of housing policy priorities  with a focus on addressing the escalating housing crisis  including implementing permanent rent control, a rental registry, and increased funding for subsidized housing. The group is also calling for increased social assistance rates, as current recipients cannot afford the average rent for a one-bedroom unit. These policy proposals have been made in other parts of Canada, and implemented together, they can help alleviate the housing and homelessness crisis. The platform was released during a rally in Moncton held in early June, and was attended by members of the Green Party, Liberal Party, and NDP. The provincial election is currently scheduled for October 21, 2024.
  

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CENTRAL CANADA

ONTARIO

• City of London considering a renovictions bylaw
  
  London city council is currently considering a bylaw to tackle renovictions, a tactic that has been on the rise over the last few years across Ontario, wherein landlords evict renters paying below market rents under the guise of conducting renovations, only to rent their units to new renters at higher rates. If approved by council, the bylaw would require landlords who wish to use an eviction notice for renovations to obtain a $400 license from the city, which would require a qualified professional to confirm that the unit must be vacant in order to complete the renovations. Some councilors have also proposed steep fines for landlords who break these rules. London Property Management Association, the city’s largest organization of landlords, has come out against the draft bylaw, arguing that the provincial Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) already fully protects renters, and that they will pursue litigation based on an excess of jurisdiction if the bylaw is passed. However, renter advocates note that many renter protections under the RTA are not enforced, putting the onus on municipalities to provide more robust protections. Hamilton was the first city in Ontario to enact a renovictions bylaw and Toronto is currently developing its own, based on the Hamilton model. 
  
  
• Hamilton moves closer to implementing a ‘demovictions’ bylaw
  
  Hamilton city council is expected to pass a demovictions bylaw, which would further strengthen protections for renters included in its recently passed bylaw on renovictions. Demovictions occur when landlords evict renters from a building to demolish and redevelop it into new units. If passed, the Rental Housing Replacement By-law would require landlords and developers who seek to demolish midsize rental buildings and replace them with large towers to obtain a permit from the city. Landlords would also be required to provide replacement units in new developments, inform renters of their rights under provincial legislation, and provide renters with financial compensation, including for moving expenses. Demovictions are expected to increase as land values continue to rise and there is more demand for housing in the city. The goal of the bylaw is to preserve and protect existing affordable rental units.
  
  
• Ontario is set to receive $4.7 billion from the federal government for housing and infrastructure
  
  The Ontario government recently renewed a Canada Community-Building Fund agreement with the federal government. As part of the agreement, Ontario will receive $4.7 billion over the next five years for housing and related infrastructure, to be allocated to municipalities. The province says that the funds will go towards increasing the capacity of the non-profit sector, creating a provincial strategy around innovative types of housing, such as modular housing, and leveraging public lands to increase housing supply. To support households in greatest need, advocates say that the government must prioritize allocating this funding to the non-profit housing sector to create non-market housing options.
  

QUEBEC

• New report shows that the housing crisis in Quebec is not based on supply and demand
  
  A new report by the Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ) shows that although the number of residential units built in Quebec in the last decade surpassed the growth of households, many of those units remain empty and are still out of reach for many households due to rapidly rising rents. Average rents in Montreal increased by 27 per cent between 2020 and 2024, while the rate of evictions across the province rose by 135 per cent in 2023 alone. The report’s findings rebut the government’s framing of the housing crisis as a supply-and-demand issue, with an increase in supply as the main solution. Instead, RCLALQ recommends building more social housing, which the province is in dire need of after its social housing program was cancelled in the 1990s, as well as strengthening rent control measures, implementing a province-wide rental registry, and increasing restrictions on evictions. Increasing supply cannot be the only solution to the housing crisis and various measures need to be implemented to address the housing affordability and adequacy crisis. 
  
  
• Quebec renters are more likely to face a disputed eviction in areas with more visible minorities and immigrants
  
  According to a Globe and Mail analysis that compared recent data from Quebec’s housing tribunal with the 2021 Census, the highest rates of evictions that were appealed to the tribunal were from areas in the province where a higher number of visible minorities and immigrants live. Eviction notices are not recorded if renters do not oppose them, which leaves contested evictions as the only way to measure where evictions are taking place. Local community organizers and housing advocates say that these findings align with the trend of historically affordable and diverse neighborhoods facing rising housing costs and subsequent rent increases, leading to greater risk of economic eviction for households unable to pay. Furthermore, in some of these neighborhoods, immigrant renters are seeking support, as they face new buyers trying to evict them to increase their profits. This research highlights the power imbalance between landlords and renters in minority and immigrant communities, and the barriers they face in accessing adequate and affordable housing and exercising their rights. 
  
  
• Auditor General report examines state of Montreal’s low-income housing
  
  Montreal Auditor General Andrée Cossette recently released a report, which tackles issues related to low-income housing, among others. The report identifies several issues in low-income housing, including wait times of up to six years and the deterioration of units, with 61 per cent of units being in poor or very poor condition. As of the end of 2022, 23,000 applicants, many of whom have children, were waiting for low-income housing. The report identified that poor management has prevented the appropriate allocation of units to households in need, including failure to respect the priority list. The Auditor General called for more inspections of low-income units to ensure that they meet the necessary conditions.
   

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WESTERN CANADA

MANITOBA

• Manitoba proposes new limits for above guideline rent increases
  
  The Manitoba government recently introduced a bill that would make it harder for landlords to raise rents above the annual provincial guidelines, by setting conditions for which they can seek this type of increase. Applications for above guideline rent increases would be restricted to situations in which landlords invest in capital projects, such as plumbing and heating, or face a significant rise in taxes, utilities, and/or security costs. This is a significant victory for renters and housing advocates, as currently, landlords can apply to the residential tenancies director for an above guideline increase for any reason. However, no changes have been made to the way increases are calculated by the residential tenancies board, and some units remain exempt from the provincial rent increase guideline. The bill is expected to pass when the legislature sits again in the fall.  
  

Alberta

• Advocates in Calgary warn that landlords are using government-funded climate retrofits as a way to hike rents
  
  Advocates in Calgary are warning that financialized landlords are leveraging government funding to retrofit their aging buildings to increase rents. This trend risks further jeopardizing the stability of lower income renters, especially in the absence of rent regulations in the province. While upgrading aging buildings is essential in the face of climate change, there is a danger that financialized landlords are using green investments to maximize profits. The current business model of most financialized landlords is based on acquiring older buildings and upgrading them to increase rents and attract more affluent renters, displacing current low-income renters in the process. Public funding should not be used to contribute to this model of increasing profits and displacing renters. In the absence of robust accountability mechanisms, Calgary’s tight rental market could present the ideal environment in which financialized landlords can increase the value of older buildings, and their profits, under the guise of addressing climate change. 
  
  

British Columbia

• British Colombia introduces new regulations to support community planning
  
  The British Columbia government recently introduced new regulations to standardize and improve community planning in the province, in an effort to make it easier and faster to build more homes. Under the regulations, municipalities will be required to complete housing needs reports every five years, using a new provincial standardized method for calculating housing needs, with guidance from the province. Municipalities must then update their zoning by-laws and official community plans to accommodate current and anticipated needs over five years. This regulation is part of the province’s Homes for People Plan, which aims to give local governments the support and authority they need to increase housing in their municipalities, as they struggle to meet targets set by the province.
  

NATIONAL

• The Review Panel on the Financialization of Purpose-Built Rental Housing Submits Report to the Minister of Housing 
  
  On May 29, the National Housing Council’s Review Panel on the Financialization of Purpose-Built Rental Housing released a new report. The report provides solutions to advance the right to housing in Canada, and was informed by extensive engagement with lived experts, people from historically marginalized communities, and housing and human rights experts. The review panel examined linkages between financialization, housing affordability, and renters’ rights. The report shows that financialized housing leads to increased rents, evictions and displacement of lower income communities, and poor building maintenance, among other negative impacts. The review panel issued five key recommendations to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, who has 120 days to respond. These recommendations reflect those issued in CCHR’s submission to the Review Panel, and include increasing investments in non-market housing supply, protecting the existing affordable supply, and strengthening renter supports and protections. While these recommendations can be effective, it is disappointing that they did not include measures to address the tax incentives and loopholes that financialized landlords continue to benefit from, which drive them to use tactics that harm renters in order to increase their profits.
  
  
• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released a series of new progress reports
  
  CMHC’s 2023 Annual Report shows that the Crown agency surpassed its 2023 housing targets despite difficult economic conditions. However, less housing was built last year compared to previous years, as rising interest rates and a lack of skilled labor continue to impede Canada’s goal of creating 3.5 million new homes by 2030. CMHC’s 2024 Housing Market Outlook forecasts a slow economic rebound, with even fewer housing starts in the coming year and increased demand for rental housing. A CMHC survey on the state of Canada’s rental housing shows that despite some improvements in accessibility, rents have increased by 17 per cent nationally since 2019, while the existing rental stock is deteriorating across the board.
  
  
• New report shows increased federal spending on homelessness has had little impact
  
  The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer commissioned a report on federal spending on homelessness, revealing that funding has increased by 374 per cent over the last 10 years, but failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness. While the report estimates that interventions funded by the main federal homelessness program, Reaching Home, have prevented 6,000 people from becoming homeless, the proportion of people experiencing chronic homelessness has increased by 38 per cent since 2018. The federal government would need to invest seven times its current spending to meet its goal of reducing chronic homelessness by half.
  
  
• Canada recognizes housing as a human right. Few provinces have followed suit.
  
  Following the release of the Federal Housing Advocate’s report on homeless encampments urging all provinces to adopt legislation upholding housing as a human right, the Canadian Press asked each province about their commitments to the right to housing. Most provinces remained vague and pointed to measures underway to address the housing crisis in their jurisdictions. Quebec’s Premier openly rejected housing as a fundamental human right, instead calling it “essential.” In contrast, P.E.I. referred to the recognition of housing as a human right under its Residential Tenancy Act, while Manitoba aligned with Canada’s rights-based approach to housing. The Federal Housing Advocate questioned the provinces’ understanding of a rights-based approach, and stressed the need for meaningful engagement and respecting people’s dignity. CCHR’s Director of Policy and Law Reform said that recognizing housing as a human right requires legislative action, noting that P.E.I.’s legislation lacks enforcement measures. We encourage provinces to amend their tenancy rules so that evictions are used only as a last resort.

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ATLANTIC CANADA

Newfoundland and Labrador

• No more encampment evictions, says Federal Housing Advocate
  
  Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle has voiced her disagreement with the provincial government’s plan to evict residents of a St. John’s encampment. Last month, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure posted signs around Tent City that effectively criminalized unhoused people. Soon thereafter, the same department hired private contractors to dismantle the encampment. Houle reminded the government that enforcement measures to clear encampments should be compliant with human rights standards and that the government should provide alternative measures to house encampment residents following meaningful engagement. While the government argued that alternative shelter options are available, residents who have transitioned through the city’s shelters reported that living conditions were inadequate and unsafe and that Tent City had provided a safer option for them.

NOVA SCOTIA

• Large Halifax landlords report double-digit operating income growth in first quarter of 2024
  
  Two large rental property corporations in Halifax have reported income increases of 12 to 14 per cent over the first quarter of 2024. Both companies attribute the increased revenue to higher rents and lower utility costs in their buildings. Compared to last year, rents in these buildings have increased by 5.7 to 7.2 per cent, above the provincial rent cap of five per cent. In the absence of vacancy control, average rents in Halifax have increased beyond provincial guidelines when new renters move into a unit, or when an existing renter signs a new lease. At the national level, the two companies increased rents by 19.6 to 23 per cent, and due to the size of these entities, their financial data likely reflects an overall upward trend in landlord profits across the country.
  
  
• Halifax protesters demand ban on fixed-term leases
  
  On May 3, ACORN Halifax held a protest to demand a ban on fixed-term leases in Nova Scotia. Fixed-term leases, unlike periodic leases, allow landlords to raise rents above the province’s five per cent cap between tenancies. Advocates say that this practice results in significant rent hikes that push people out of their homes and prevent them from re-entering the rental market. While lease information is not collected by the government, ACORN highlighted the 600 per cent increase in unhoused people in Halifax over the past year as evidence of landlords’ increased use of fixed-term leases. A 2023 survey conducted by the Elizabeth Fry Society also revealed that nearly 23 per cent of the people they interviewed lost their homes due to a renoviction or fixed-term lease. ACORN advocates are now asking the provincial government to vote in favor of new legislation currently being discussed in the legislature that could restrict the use of fixed-term leases. The provincial government has responded by emphasizing their focus on increasing housing supply, rather than altering lease regulations. 

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CENTRAL CANADA

ONTARIO

• City of Ottawa takes first step to pass a long-overdue renoviction bylaw
  
  The City of Ottawa has taken a significant step towards addressing renovictions by voting to explore a new bylaw, modelled after Hamilton’s renoviction bylaw. The anti-renoviction bylaw would aim to protect renters from being evicted in bad faith to be replaced by renters paying a higher amount. The decision follows a notable increase in renovictions, with Ottawa ACORN reporting a 545 per cent rise in eviction notices in the city between 2017 and 2022. The bylaw would require landlords to obtain a building permit and provide an engineer’s report proving the necessity of major renovation works before evicting renters. Additionally, landlords would need to offer temporary accommodation or compensation and allow renters to return at the same rental rate once renovations are complete. 
  
  
• Ontario seals $357 million housing deal with federal government
  
  In light of Ontario’s failure to meet the housing targets in its Action Plan under the National Housing Strategy, the federal government had previously decided to withhold $357 million in affordable housing funding from the province. Federal housing minister Sean Fraser criticized Ontario’s performance, as the province has achieved only six per cent of its targets, announcing that the funds would be disbursed directly to municipalities. In response, the provincial government developed a revised Action Plan that promised to achieve 28 per cent of its original targets and includes an improved funding delivery model through municipal service managers. The federal government reversed its decision to bypass the province for new funding as the revised targets puts Ontario on par with other provinces. 
  

QUEBEC

• Quebec housing minister tables bill putting three-year pause on certain evictions
  
  On May 22, Quebec housing minister France-Élaine Duranceau tabled Bill 65, An Act to limit lessors’ right of eviction and to enhance the protection of senior lessees. The proposed bill would impose a three-year moratorium on evictions for subdivision, enlargement, or change of use of a rental unit. The moratorium could be lifted earlier if Quebec’s vacancy rate rises above three per cent. Evictions for necessary demolitions and repossession for a landlord’s own use are not covered by the bill. The new legislation would also extend protections against evictions for seniors. Currently, low-income seniors over 70 who have lived in their rental unit for at least 10 years are protected from evictions. Bill 65 would extend this protection to 24,000 additional households, by lowering the minimum age to 65 and increasing the threshold for qualifying income by 25 per cent. While the Liberals have reserved their judgment until the bill is further studied, Québec Solidaire and housing organizations like FRAPRU and RCLALQ welcomed the measures in Bill 65, which they have long pushed for, while challenging the minister’s view that the housing crisis in Quebec has been spurred by a recent spike in temporary residents. Both FRAPRU and RCLALQ would like to see the bill go further, by including evictions for repossessions under the moratorium.    

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WESTERN CANADA

MANITOBA

• Housing incentive program would require Winnipeg developers to offer subsidized units
  
  The City of Winnipeg is considering a new bylaw to create a Capital Grant Incentive Program using $25 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund allocation. If approved, this incentive program would offer grants of $25,000 to $35,000 per unit to build 600 new affordable units in multi-residential projects and downtown housing developments. Eligible developers would be required to offer half of the units as rent-geared-to income, supportive, or transitional housing. The incentive program would also require efficient project planning, and eligible projects would need to be shovel-ready within one year. CCHR’s Senior Policy and Outreach Advisor, Yutaka Dirks, commended the program’s emphasis on rent-geared-to-income housing. However, he notes the need for clarity on the definition of affordability. The incentive program defines affordable housing as either 80 per cent of median market rents, or 30 per cent of median household income, both of which would be unaffordable to lower income households.
  

saskatchewan

• Broad support for Saskatoon’s affordable housing plan
  
  The City of Saskatoon is planning to allocate $41.3 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund to build more affordable housing. Most of the funding would be dedicated to various incentive programs, including the Innovative Housing Incentives policy, densification projects, and developments on municipal land. Eligible developers would be able to access up to $27,000 per unit and benefit from a five-year tax abatement for each new affordable unit built. Developers would be required to maintain affordability for a minimum of 20 years, with units priced below market rates. The length of the affordability period raised concern among landlords who believe it will deter developers from building in Saskatoon. Meanwhile, housing advocates argue that long-term agreements are necessary, as there is little incentive for landlords to keep their rents affordable otherwise.
  

Alberta

• Alberta government passes contentious suite of bills as spring legislature session wraps up
  
  The Alberta legislature passed a controversial piece of legislation introduced by the UCP last month: Bill 20, Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act. On the one hand, measures in the bill would provide municipalities with new tools to speed up housing construction. For example, municipalities could exempt non-profit and subsidized housing from municipal taxes, reduce requirements for building and environmental standards, offer digital options for public consultations, remove non-essential public hearings, and reduce the number of pre-development studies. On the other hand, Bill 20 complements measures contained in another controversial legislation, Bill 18, that would further expand provincial power in Alberta. While Bill 18 requires municipalities to obtain approval from the provincial government to enter into agreements with the federal government, Bill 20 enables the province to remove elected municipal Council members and repeal local bylaws. Pressure from municipal leaders led the Municipal Affairs Minister to add conditions to these powers. 
  
  
• Edmonton mayor names 16-member task force to tackle housing and homelessness issues
  
  Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi recently announced the creation of the Community Mobilization Task Force on Housing and Homelessness. This task force aims to address growing rates of housing precarity and homelessness in Edmonton. The initiative has been in development since the City declared a housing and homelessness emergency at the beginning of 2024, and the mandate of the task force will go beyond studying issues underlying the housing and homelessness crisis in Edmonton, to focus on developing actionable solutions to create more non-market and supportive housing options.
  

British Columbia

• Provincial government steps in to prevent a summer homelessness crisis
  
  Following appeals from the City of Vancouver to the provincial government to uphold bylaws to protect Single Room Occupancy (SRO) units (after the bylaws were struck down by provincial courts), provincial Bill 27, Municipalities Enabling and Validating Amendment Act, received Royal Assent on May 16. The bill gives power to the City of Vancouver to enact its SRO bylaws and curb rent gouging in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Owners of SRO units will no longer be able to increase rents beyond the provincial limit between tenancies, while facing strong penalties for non-compliance. Local housing advocates welcomed the news, saying that it will help protect close to 3,600 low-income renters. Since February, almost 500 SRO renters have been evicted and 1,000 more are at risk of being displaced through economic evictions. SRO rents have increased by a staggering 21 per cent in recent years, with some units renting for as high as $2,000 per month. The Mayor of Vancouver lauded the provincial government, but recognized it as a temporary measure that might not continue after the provincial election in October. Housing advocates are also calling on the government to extend vacancy control to all rentals, a proposal the government does not support, as it believes it could deter private investments in new housing supply, despite evidence to the contrary.
  
  
• Homelessness survivors call for reform at BC legislature
  
  On May 7, members of the Housing Justice Project called on the provincial government to implement the eight actions to eliminate homelessness outlined in their report Homes for All: Evaluating the Right to Housing in Victoria. The report is informed by lived experts and sheds light on the living options of people who have experienced homelessness. It argues that temporary and transitional shelters are unsafe and do not meet human rights standards for adequate housing. In Greater Victoria, close to 1,700 people experience homelessness on any given night, and 87 per cent reported being unable to secure permanent housing due to high rent prices and a lack of affordable options. The report calls for the elimination of long-term shelters and transitional housing, and instead advocates for a direct path to permanent housing and drastically increasing the supply of subsidized units.

The federal, provincial, and territorial governments have significant resources and policy levers at their disposal to tackle the housing affordability crisis and ensure secure, affordable homes for everyone in Canada. Below, we outline key housing-related investments in each of the 2024 federal, provincial, and territorial budgets and assess their potential to advance the right to housing by supporting renters and investing in affordable housing. 

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FEDERAL

Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation

It is encouraging to see the federal government take a leadership role in tackling the housing crisis through a comprehensive approach by investing in a range of programs to increase housing supply, preserve and build affordable housing, protect renters, and address homelessness. 

However, it is concerning that the government remains focused primarily on building more housing supply, despite evidence that more supply will not address housing affordability. In addition, that budget is missing a number of measures that CCHR recommended, including leveraging public lands for deeply affordable housing, expanding the Canada Housing Benefit, increasing investments in the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous housing strategy, and implementing measures to address the financialization of housing and advance the right to housing. Read CCHR’s in-depth analysis here. 

Reiterating many of the announcements from the recent Canada Housing Plan, the 2024 federal budget includes several key housing commitments. Highlights include:  

• An additional $15 billion for the Apartment Construction Loan Program. 
• $6 billion for a new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund. 
• $4.3 billion over seven years to an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous housing strategy, previously announced. 
• $1.5 billion for a new Canada Rental Protection Fund for non-profits to acquire and protect low-end of market rentals. 
• $1.5 for the Co-operative Housing Development Program, previously announced. 
• An additional $1 billion to the Reaching Home homelessness strategy, plus $250 million to address encampments. 
• An additional $1 billion to the Rapid Housing Stream under the Affordable Housing Fund. 
• Continuation of the existing $960 million Interim Housing Assistance Program. 
• An additional $400 million for the Housing Accelerator Fund. 
• $15 million for a new Tenant Protection Fund. 
• A new Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights. 
• Launching a Public Lands for Homes Plan, including $500 million towards a Public Lands Acquisition Fund and $116.9 million to top up the Federal Lands Initiative.  
• Launching Canada Builds through a combination of federal low-cost loans and provincial and territorial investments.  
• Removing GST from new co-ops and student housing, plus new rental apartment construction, previously announced. 
  

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ATLANTIC CANADA

New brunswick 

Budget 2024-25 – Stronger than Ever: Let’s Keep Building 

The 2024-25 budget increases investments in housing by 54 per cent over its previous budget. To reach provincial targets to reduce the number of households spending over 30 per cent of their income on rent and decrease the number of households on the subsidized housing waitlist, the budget prioritizes the provision of rent supplements. The government also aims to hold annual rent increases at an average of 2.5 per cent. However, rather than reinstating ever loosening rent regulations, the province intends to achieve that target by relying on the construction of new housing supply. Yet, in the absence of strong rent regulations, new supply on its own will not keep rent increases reasonable.  

Development of the community housing sector is largely absent from this budget, with only 380 public housing units targeted for development over three years. Meanwhile, housing advocates have emphasized the need for investments to create 10,000 public housing units and preserve currently affordable units and land. 

New Brunswick’s 2024-2025 budget includes many of the investments committed in the 2023 NB Housing Strategy: Housing For All: 

• $100 million over three years to build new public housing units.  
• $22 million for a direct-to-tenant rental benefit for families and seniors in core housing need. 
• $11 million in permanent funding for homelessness responses, including operational funding for emergency shelters and Homeless Hubs, prevention and diversion services, and supportive housing development.  
• $8.9 million for rent supplements. 
• $5.5 million through the Canada Housing Benefit to help an additional 1,200 New Brunswick households. 
• $3.5 million through the Canada Housing Benefit to support survivors of gender-based violence. 
• $3 million through the Rent Bank to support renter households in arrears. 
• $2.6 million to build affordable houses in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.  
• $2.5 million to support the development and repair of rental units.  

Newfoundland and labrador

Budget 2024 – Transforming: Our Health. Our Economy. Our Province

Through its 2024 budget, the province makes some investments to build and maintain public and supportive housing, while funding rent supplements and initiatives to stimulate market housing construction more generously. While CMHC forecasted that Newfoundland requires an additional 60,000 homes by 2030 beyond typical development trends, there are 17,510 households that require affordable housing now. 

Advocates welcomed new funding toward affordable housing and homelessness initiatives, especially given that 50 per cent of the population experiencing homelessness in St. John’s are from other areas of the province, while the city has limited resources to adequately address the depth of need. 

Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2024 Budget contains the following housing investments:  

• $50 million for the Rental Housing Development Loan Program. 
• $36 million over four years to build new provincial housing units. 
• $30 million over three years for the construction of a new service hub to provide integrated health and housing supports for people experiencing homelessness. 
• $21 million for private market rent supplements. 
• $13 million for the Transitional Supportive Living Initiative. 
• $12 million over four years for targeted provincial housing repairs and modernization, plus an $8 million increase to the overall provincial housing repairs, maintenance, and renovations budget. 
• $4 million to continue the Secondary and Basement Suite Program. 
• $3 million to rebate HST on new residential rental development. 
• $1.5 million for new supportive housing units and low-barrier emergency shelter beds. 

NOVA SCOTIA 

Building Nova Scotia, Faster: Budget 2024-25 

The 2024-25 budget invests heavily in initiatives to create more housing supply, following the province’s recent Housing Needs Assessment Report. The report identified the need for more student housing to lessen demand elsewhere in the market, while also noting the increasing cost of construction and employment vacancies in the construction industry as barriers to new housing supply. 

With a budget focused largely on supply, investment in initiatives to protect affordable housing and assist households currently struggling with affordability are sorely missed. As we identified in our pre-budget submission, 8,500 rent supplements and modest investment in new public housing are insufficient to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income Nova Scotians.  

Moreover, the rent regulation framework in Nova Scotia allows landlords to raise rents with impunity when there is renter turnover. A fixed-term lease loophole, which permits the use of leases with end dates, allows landlords to continually turnover units to new renters at higher rents. The government’s lack of action towards preserving existing affordable units and/or providing all renters with security of tenure is a glaring gap that will allow rents to continue to rise to unattainable levels, despite new supply. 

Housing related investments in the 2024-2025 Nova Scotia budget include: 

• $84.6 million for initiatives to address homelessness, including new supportive housing units and operational funding for shelters.  
• $80-$100 million annually (estimated) in HST rebates on new purpose-built, multi-unit apartments.  
• $69.2 million for rent supplements. 
• $35.3 million to build and repair public housing units.  
• $32.1 million for student housing. 
• $11.8 million for modular public housing.  
• $3.6 million for a rapid housing initiative to develop new affordable housing units. 

Prince edward island

2024-25 Prince Edward Island Budget 

It is encouraging to see the budget prioritize investments to build, preserve, and operate non-profit, co-operative, and public housing, which is critical to support households in greatest housing need and ensure long term affordability. However, housing advocates noted that PEI has lost a significant number of affordable housing units and questioned the efficacy of the budget’s level of investment in preservation and development efforts at this stage in the housing crisis. 

The budget also fails to provide support for existing renters, following calls from advocates and opposition parties for an extension of the expired moratorium on renovictions until November 2024, in the midst of record-low vacancy rates. Advocates have similarly been seeking further renter supports and protections, including a rent registry to prevent illegal rent increases and a provincial maintenance standards regulation enforced through public inspectors (following the dilution of maintenance standards in the recently updated Residential Tenancy Act). 

The 2024-25 Prince Edward Island (PEI) operating budget follows the launch of its five-year housing strategy and includes: 

• $10 million for the new Community Housing Expansion Program to build and preserve affordable housing with non-profits and co-ops. 
• $6.9 million to expand shelter spaces and supports.  
• $6.7 million in tax rebates for new multi-unit residential buildings, including HST and property tax rebates. 
• $1.6 million for PEI Housing Corporation to operate new social housing units. 
• $200,000 to develop PEI’s Land Use Plan. 

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CENTRAL CANADA

ONTARIO

2024 Ontario Budget: Building a Better Ontario

Aside from the modest supportive housing investments, the budget prioritizes “attainable” housing initiatives (which it has yet to define), with minimal commitments toward preserving and building deeply affordable, non-market housing for low income households. This is reflected in current trends, as the vast majority of provincial housing starts over the past year have been in the private market. The promise of supportive housing development next year pales in comparison to the current depth of need, including for people experiencing homelessness.  

The budget also fails to provide support or stabilization for renters, such as housing subsidies, stronger rent regulations, and greater accountability and enforcement of renter rights. Further, housing advocates had called for the budget to invest in a community housing acquisition fund, an urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing strategy, and mechanisms to address financialization and implement the right to housing. 

Following its recent red tape reduction bill, the province continues to prioritize initiatives to stimulate new housing supply with insufficient or absent affordability requirements. It also remains to be seen whether Ontario will receive National Housing Strategy funding after failing to meet its commitments to build more affordable housing. 

The 2024 Ontario budget includes some new and previously announced housing investments, focused primarily on building new supply: 

• $1.8 billion over three years for the new Municipal Infrastructure Program and enhanced Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to support housing-enabling infrastructure. 
• $152 million over three years for supportive housing, including rent supplements and support for units with expiring operating agreements, with new supportive housing development to be considered next year. 
• Enabling municipalities to lower property taxes for new purpose-built rentals and implement a vacant home tax. 
• Developing an attainable housing program, including modular and other innovative construction methods. 
• Prioritizing surplus public properties for government priorities, including attainable housing. 

QUEBEC

2024 Quebec Budget: Priorities: Health and Education 

The Quebec budget brings investments in housing to $6.3 billion between 2019 and 2029, with the aim of creating 23,000 new affordable housing units across the province. However, funding for housing decreased by 4.9 per cent compared to last year, while construction is lagging, with close to 12,500 new units already funded but not yet built. 

FRAPRU and other housing advocates expressed their disappointment in the lack of meaningful investments in social and non-profit housing, calling for the government to double its current housing supply targets and build 50,000 social housing units by 2029 to meet the needs of Quebec renters.  

The 2024 Quebec budget outlines how previous funding commitments will be disbursed between existing housing programs over the next five years: 

• $1.8 billion in cost-match funding with the federal government through the Housing Accelerator Fund. 
• $532 million for homelessness prevention, including $282 million for transitional and social housing. 
• $483 million for affordable housing, including $219 million to maintain and repair existing social housing stock and $200 million to increase rent supplements under the Shelter Allowance Program (Programme Allocation-logement). 
• $375 million to build seniors housing. 
• $7.5 million to build student housing. 

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WESTERN CANADA

MANITOBA

One Future. One People. One Manitoba. Budget 2024 

Prior to the release of the budget, CCHR outlined several priorities for housing investments through our advocacy and media engagement. While the 2024 budget funds the acquisition or construction of new affordable housing, the 350 units of social housing promised is far short of the 1,000 rent-geared-to-income housing units needed, according to Manitoba’s Right to Housing Coalition. Moreover, the $67.8 million investment in social housing capital maintenance and modernization is welcome, but accounts for less than half of what the Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association says is needed each year to ensure the sustainability of the community housing sector. 

Under the newly created department of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness, the 2024 Manitoba budget includes:  

• $67.8 million to modernize existing social housing and $4.4 million to maintain operating subsidies, previously announced.  
• $20 million for a Capital Grant Program for community housing providers to increase affordable housing supply through acquisition, renovation, or new construction.  
• $15 million for the Rent Assist housing benefit.  
• $10 million for an Affordable Housing Partnership Program targeting the private sector, municipal, and Indigenous governments to increase affordable housing supply.  
• A new $6 million Acquisition Fund for non-profits to acquire existing units. 
• $5 million for housing supports to end chronic homelessness. 
• $4 million for renovation of existing non-profit housing, plus $4 million for routine maintenance of Manitoba Housing units.   
• $1 million for the Rent Relief Fund, which provides loans for renters in arears.  
• $1 million for a Pest Control Program for Manitoba Housing  
• A new Rental Housing Construction Tax Credit. 

saskatchewan

2024-25 Saskatchewan Budget: Classrooms, Care & Communities 

It is encouraging that the Saskatchewan government is focusing most of its new housing-related budget spending on social housing maintenance, alongside investments in supportive housing and other homelessness supports. However, long-term government divestment from its public housing portfolio has led to significant maintenance and repair backlogs, record vacancy levels, and overall reduction in the provincial social housing stock. In tandem with policy changes reducing the eligibility of moderate-income households to access subsidized housing, this approach has led to increased rates of homelessness and housing need across the province. 

While the budget includes incentives for private sector housing development through tax rebates and funding for secondary suites, it fails to invest in the expansion of affordable, non-market housing, which is fundamental to meet the needs of low and moderate-income households, especially in light of the limited availability and habitability of its existing public housing stock. Moreover, the budget includes minimal support for renters, with a minor increase to shelter benefits available to SIS recipients (following previous cuts) and no additional investments in the Saskatchewan Housing Benefit. 

The 2024-25 Saskatchewan budget includes: 

• $23.1 million for the Provincial Approach to Homelessness for emergency shelter operations and supportive housing development. 
• $20.2 million for the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation to repair and maintain social housing units. 
• $7.4 million to increase Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) basic and shelter benefits by three per cent, up to $60 monthly per household. 
• $2.7 million for the Saskatchewan Secondary Suite Incentive Grant Program. 
• Ongoing Provincial Sales Tax (PST) rebate on the New Home Construction Program. 

ALBERTA

2024 Alberta Budget: A Responsible Plan for a Growing Province 

Alberta’s total budget for housing and homelessness exceeds $1 billion in funding, with $829 million to build new affordable housing and preserve existing units, representing a 75 per cent increase from last year’s budget. It is promising to see the Alberta government increasing housing supports for marginalized populations and dedicating more funding toward subsidized housing and non-profit housing providers.  

However, over half of the budget’s capital investments are geared towards private sector incentives, while funding for housing affordability pales in comparison with the depth of need, particularly for low-income renters. Budget 2024 provides assistance to 5,650 households, in addition to the 58,600 the province is currently supporting, which represents a mere 3.5 per cent of all households in need. Additionally, in spite of a strong start to 2024 for new builds, home prices are surging and rents have increased to a record high.  

Housing advocates in Calgary have lauded the more progressive measures in the housing budget, while advocates in Edmonton have deplored cuts made to emergency assistance funding. While the budget addresses some of the measures that CCHR recommended, it is missing crucial measures to improve housing affordability, such as prioritizing non-profit developers to build new affordable supply and indexing rent supplements to inflation. Without strong rent regulations and meaningful investments in social and community housing, the encouraging steps the government has taken to increase housing supports and preserve existing units will signify little in the face of escalating housing and living costs. 

The 2024 Alberta budget increases investments over the next three years to advance existing housing and shelter programs, focusing on building new supply: 

• $717 million in capital grants through Alberta’s Affordable Housing Strategy, including: 
  • $405 million for the Affordable Housing Partnership Program, which provides funding or land to incentivize developers to build affordable housing. 
  • $130 million for the Seniors Lodge Modernization Program. 
  • $91 million for the maintenance and renewal of government-owned social housing buildings. 
  • $75 million for the Indigenous Housing Capital Program to build, purchase, or redevelop Indigenous housing. 
• $257 million for Alberta Social Housing Corporation operations. 
• $170 million in combined funding under the Homelessness Task Force Action Plan, the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Program and Alberta’s Safe Streets Action Plan, to support shelter providers and improve shelter spaces and services, prioritizing women with experience of domestic violence. 
• $121 million for capital maintenance and renewal of seniors’ facilities. 
• $75 million in operating funding to support community and non-profit housing providers. 

British Columbia

Budget 2024: Taking action for people and families in B.C. 

While the 2024 budget for housing is modest compared to the previous year, the province is still making significant investments in housing that complement a string of recent legislative measures to increase residential density, protect renters, and preserve affordable housing. Over the next three years, $2.4 billion in capital spending will be dedicated to housing, with an 115 per cent increase in funding for housing subsidies and incentives.  

However, while the introduction of additional supports for renters has been welcomed, the budget continues to prioritize attainable homeownership for moderate-income households. The new supply expected under B.C. Builds would need to be 12 to 15 times higher to meet demand for housing across the province. As B.C. continues to lead the country in high rent prices, current housing investments are insufficient to provide enough affordable housing for low- to moderate-income renters. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association note that the tax exemption funding for homeownership, along with the homeowner grant program, could be put to better use if directed towards rent supports and investments in non-market supply. 

The 2024 B.C. budget prioritizes supports for renters, while continuing to fund new housing supply over the next three years:  

• $267 million to launch the Renter’s Tax Credit, which provides up to $400 in tax exemption to low- and moderate-income renters. 
• $198 million in new funding for BC Builds on top of the $950 million already committed, to speed up the development of new housing for middle-income households. 
• $151 million to develop Indigenous-led social housing and community services. 
• $116 million in operational funding to support existing housing programs and maintain shelter spaces. 
• $100 million to increase the limits on tax exemption programs to stimulate demand for homeownership. 
• $4 million to extend the Property Transfer Tax exemption to purpose-built rental buildings of four or more units, until 2030. 

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NORTHERN CANADA

NUNAVUT

Nunavut Budget 2024-2025  

Most renter households in Nunavut have limited interaction with the market. In Iqaluit, for instance, most of the rental housing is non-market based. Leases are typically held by government organizations and rented out as social housing through the Nunavut Housing Corporation (which administers 22 per cent of all rental units in Iqaluit) or as government staff housing. Employers also typically hold leases and rent units out as employee housing for private firms. As such, housing funding in the budget is mainly directed towards maintaining existing and building new public housing.  

However, Nunavut has the highest level of housing need in Canada. Approximately 49 per cent of the population cannot secure housing that is affordable in the private market, which underscores the need for more rental supplements to support renters in the private market, in addition to the current funding commitments for public sector housing.  

The 2024-2025 Nunavut budget includes:  

• $82.7 million to build new public and staff housing, including through the Nunavut 3000 plan, plus support for home ownership and repairs. 
• $7.7 million for additional public housing for local housing authorities. 
• $7.5 million for supportive housing. 
• $1.9 million for shelters. 

YUKON

Yukon Budget 2024-2025 

It is promising to see funding going towards renovating units owned by the Yukon Housing Corporation, through which the territorial government provides a significant amount of affordable housing stock. It is also encouraging to see funding for new affordable homes and Housing First projects, the development of supportive units and rental housing, and rental subsidies. Investments in rental subsidies are crucial, as the most recent data available shows that 20 per cent of families in Whitehorse cannot afford market housing without financial assistance.  

Some advocates have called for greater investment in rural land development to improve housing access. CCHR has recommended that land development policies should prioritize affordable and non-profit housing to ensure that public investments result in deeply affordable housing units. 

The 2024-2025 Yukon budget includes:  

• $27.3 million to build affordable homes, community housing and Housing First projects and replace aging units. 
• $25.9 million to support land development across the Yukon, including for housing. 
• $8.3 million for rental housing development. 
• $6 million to develop supportive housing units. 
• $5.5 million in loans for individuals and developers to buy and build houses, and for homeowners to repair their principal residence. 
• $2 million to renovate and rehabilitate Yukon Housing Corporation units. 
• $1.2 million in rental subsidies through the Canada-Yukon Housing Benefit. 
• $2.1 million in rental subsidies for people escaping gender-based violence. 

On April 12, 2024, the federal government unveiled a new housing strategy – Canada’s Housing Plan – as a significant part of its 2024 budget. The plan aims to “solve the housing crisis” by investing in programs to increase housing supply, preserve and build affordable housing, protect renters, and address homelessness.

It is encouraging to see the federal government take a leadership role in tackling the housing crisis through a comprehensive approach with significant new investments and a suite of measures. This demonstrates the government’s recognition that building more supply alone will not address the housing crisis, and that distinct policies and programs are needed to ensure housing affordability.

However, we are concerned that the government remains focused primarily on building more housing supply as the key solution to the crisis, despite evidence that more supply will not address the primary challenge facing millions of people across Canada today: affordability. To effectively address the housing affordability crisis, the government must prioritize policies and programs that specifically address housing affordability, alongside robust protections for renters.

The good news – measures that address housing affordability 

Canada’s Housing Plan contains a number of promising measures that can help address housing affordability, representing a renewed federal approach to housing policy following decades of inaction and half measures. Beginning in the 1980s, Canadian governments progressively retreated from these important interventions in housing, and since then, have relied almost exclusively on the private market to meet Canadians’ diverse housing needs. In 2017, the federal government introduced a National Housing Strategy, but it was unambitious, underfunded, and proved to be ineffective. The housing affordability crisis has continued to worsen, to the point that more than half of Canadian renters are worried about being able to pay their rent. This new plan sends an encouraging signal that the government may finally be starting to take the crisis seriously. 

It is also encouraging that the plan includes some recognition of the need for distinct programs and policies that directly target affordability, which we recommended in our pre-budget submission. These measures include, over the next five years: 

• An additional $1 billion to the Rapid Housing Stream (RHS) of the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF). The RHS (formerly a separate program called the Rapid Housing Initiative) has been more successful than other NHS funding streams at creating affordable and non-profit housing. This brings the total funding to date under both programs to $18.8 billion. 
• A new $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund for non-profits and other partners to identify and purchase affordable private-market buildings at risk of rent increases and renter displacement, which will help maintain tenancies and keep rents affordable over the long term. Housing advocates have long called for this type of acquisition program. 
• Launching a $1.5 billion funding program to support co-operative housing developments, which was previously announced in the 2022 federal budget. Co-operatives are one of the few models that can provide long-term affordable rents outside the private market.  
• An additional $1.3 billion to the Reaching Home homelessness program, including $250 million over two years to address encampments by supporting rights-based community action plans that use a Housing First approach. This brings the total funding for the program to date to $5.3 billion.  
• The continuation of the existing $960 million Interim Housing Assistance Program to prevent homelessness amongst asylum claimants.  
• $4.3 billion over seven years to an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous housing strategy. This is existing funding that the government had previously committed in its 2023 budget, to start in 2024-2025. 

These are important programs that housing advocates have long called for to address the escalating housing affordability crisis. While we welcome these announcements, they pale in comparison to the depth of need across the country. The total investment of $27.1 billion (including the new funding of $3.8 billion) directed toward affordability measures and addressing homelessness is not responsive to the scale of the housing affordability crisis. To take just two examples: Canada is currently losing 46,000 affordable units annually to rent increases, demolitions, and conversions, but the Canada Rental Protection Fund will prevent the loss of only 2,500 – just over five per cent – of those units. Similarly, to address the depth of housing need facing Indigenous Peoples living in urban, rural and northern areas, estimates range from $4.3 billion to $5.6 billion per year over ten years, but the government has committed only $600 million per year over seven years.

The promising news – measures that could meaningfully protect renters’ rights

Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights 

One of the most promising announcements in Canada’s Housing Plan is the development of a Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights. Renters across the country are facing soaring rent costs, few affordable options, and limited housing security. Without adequate protections against excessive rents, rent gouging, and eviction, renters are increasingly facing housing precarity and homelessness. Current renter protections are a patchwork and vary significantly between provinces and territories. At a minimum, the Renters’ Bill of Rights could help ensure all renters have the right to reasonable rents and protection from eviction, while helping to mitigate the ongoing loss of existing affordable homes when renters are evicted or displaced.   

To develop an effective Renters’ Bill of Rights, the federal government must engage with renter communities, organizations that represent them, and legal experts on renter protections to ensure that it reflects renters’ real-life experiences. The right to a reasonable rent is especially important given the low level of investment in direct housing affordability measures in Canada’s Housing Plan. In the absence of sufficient investments in non-market housing, most renters in Canada will continue living in private market buildings. With only five per cent of Canada’s housing stock owned by the public and non-profit sectors, housing prices are dictated by market forces. Effective rent regulation is essential to uphold renters’ rights. 

The Renters’ Bill of Rights could provide a crucial standard for every province and territory to strive towards. While this will require cooperation between different levels of government, it is not unprecedented. For example, over the course of 20 years after it was introduced by the federal government, the National Building Code was adopted by every province and territory as a standard for building design and construction. We are also encouraged that the federal government is looking to hold other levels of government accountable by making some housing funding conditional on provinces and territories adopting elements of the Renters’ Bill of Rights. When the federal government funds housing development, it is reasonable to expect that the housing it funds will be secure and affordable for the people who live in it.

Other supports for renters 

We are glad to see the federal government recognize the need for legal aid for renters, alongside support for organizations that raise awareness of renters’ rights through its new Tenant Protection Fund. However, $15 million over five years is not nearly enough to respond to the level of need facing renters, especially considering the limited resources currently available for renters facing displacement and discrimination across the country.  

We are also pleased to see the government introduce new rules to allow renters to decide if they would like their rental payment history to be taken into account for their credit score. This opt-in approach will help ensure that renters who are struggling to pay their rent on time due to the mounting housing affordability crisis are not negatively impacted.

The indifferent news – measures that will not address affordability

While it is encouraging that the government has recognized affordability and renters’ rights in its housing plan, those are disproportionately small parts of the overall strategy. In contrast, measures to incentivize the private market to build more housing comprise the vast majority of the plan. These include a little over $66.3 billion in grants, loans, and other supports for developers, and changes to zoning and permitting rules to make building quicker and cheaper. It also includes a freeze on the fees that municipalities can charge developers, a previously announced GST rebate for rental construction, and other tax breaks, all of which represent additional costs of lost tax revenue. These amounts together represent a much larger allocation than the $27.1 billion allocated to affordable housing and addressing homelessness.

In the absence of robust affordability requirements, new private market housing will not be affordable, especially for low- and moderate-income residents. Moreover, increasing supply does not meaningfully lower rents in existing homes. The supply approach is contingent on higher income residents moving into new higher-cost homes, freeing up their existing lower-cost homes to be passed on to low- and moderate-income residents. However, in the absence of effective rent regulation, there is nothing keeping those existing homes affordable. Even the  strongest proponents of the supply approach acknowledge that rent decreases spurred by new supply are negligible. Empirical studies have found that building supply “was so slow and had so little effect on providing housing to lower income tenants that it could not be pursued as a serious policy strategy” and “is not a meaningful method for producing affordable rental housing.”

In short, the government’s plan to address housing supply shortages in the private market will not meaningfully impact the affordability crisis. To address affordability, new construction must prioritize publicly-owned, non-profit, and co-operative homes. At the same time, new housing built by the private market must be subject to strict affordability requirements to justify public investment.

Unfortunately, the government’s housing plan does not signal that it intends for its significant investments in housing supply to provide affordability. On the contrary, the government noted that existing affordability requirements in the Apartment Construction Loan Program – which are already minimal, inadequate, and ineffective – will be made more “flexible.” In short, the bulk of the government’s plan is to incentivize developers to build more housing that will be unaffordable to most people in Canada.

What’s missing 

Leveraging public lands for affordable housing

We are glad to see the federal government launch a new Public Lands for Homes Plan, which aims to leverage publicly-owned lands for housing development, including by leasing lands to retain public ownership over the long term. However, it is critical that public lands and other assets be prioritized for non-market housing to maximize the use of public lands for housing that is truly affordable to communities in need. We are concerned that this new plan fails to do so, reinforcing the government’s overall focus on housing supply over affordability. However, it is encouraging that the government is proposing to prioritize non-market and student housing as part of its plan to convert underused federal offices.

 
Expanding the Canada Housing Benefit 

We are disappointed that Canada’s Housing Plan does not include additional investments in the Canada Housing Benefit (CHB), which provides low-income renters in the private market with funding to help them keep their homes. While rent supplements like the CHB can be a double-edged sword that allow landlords to increase rents in the absence of rent controls, they are also important short-term solutions that can help keep low-income renters housed in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. Paired with a strong Renters’ Bill of Rights, an expansion of the CHB could help protect affordability and security for many low-income renters across the country.

 
Addressing the financialization of housing

Canada’s Housing Plan includes minimal mention of the role that financialization has played in the housing crisis. In so far as the government is seeking to address the financialization of housing, it intends to consult on opportunities to limit the acquisition of single-family homes by large, corporate investors, with few details or clarity on what this will entail. However, financialization is a much more pervasive issue that threatens affordability and security across housing types. Beyond restricting the corporate acquisition of single-family homes, it is incumbent on the government to also address the growing speculative forces and increased role of financialized actors across the housing sector. In addition, the government should prioritize working closely with the National Housing Council, which recently wrapped up Canada’s first Review Panel to examine the impacts of the financialization of purpose-built rentals.

 
Advancing the right to housing 

Following the explicit focus of the National Housing Strategy (2017) and National Housing Strategy Act (2019) on advancing the right to adequate housing, we are disappointed that Canada’s Housing Plan makes minimal reference to the right to housing. Minimal support is included for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate in the 2024 budget, while no additional support is provided for the National Housing Council or other organizations that support renters in claiming their right to housing. Considering the disproportionate impacts of the housing affordability crisis on low-income, racialized, and other marginalized communities, it is incumbent on the government to prioritize and maximize investments that will address the housing needs of those most impacted by the crisis.

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