Wins, Misses, and What’s Next: Reflecting on the Right to Housing in Canada in 2025

Right to housing wins 

1. Recognizing housing as a human right 

• On October 1, 2025, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) passed a motion calling on the provincial government to formally legislate housing as a human right. This would help ensure the province has a clear, legal, rights-based framework to address its growing housing and homelessness crisis, following the federal government’s commitment to advance the right to housing in the 2019 National Housing Strategy Act. The UBCM motion followed nine successful municipal motions in spring 2025, and a similar resolution was passed by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Council in 2024.

• On October 28, 2025, the Northwest Territories’ Standing Committee on Social Development released recommendations to the territory on implementing the right to housing through its laws and policies. The recommendations include establishing a Territorial Housing Advocate, amending the Residential Tenancies Act, ensuring evictions are treated as a last resort, increasing supportive and transitional housing options, improving access to legal aid for renters, and incentivizing affordable housing development, among others. See CCHR’s deputation to support the implementation of housing as a human right in the Northwest Territories.

2. Expanding rent regulation

Across the country, a few provincial and territorial governments took some promising steps to expand rent regulation, while ongoing opportunities remain to close loopholes and ensure renters have secure, affordable homes for the long term:

• On February 1, 2025, New Brunswick introduced a new rent increase guideline, limiting rent increases to three per cent (with exceptions of up to nine per cent for major renovations). See CCHR’s recommendations and commentary on additional opportunities to improve renter protections in New Brunswick.

• On April 30, 2025, Nova Scotia extended its temporary rent cap until December 31, 2027, limiting rent increases to five per cent. Meanwhile, advocates in Nova Scotia continue to call for stronger rent regulation in the province, including prohibiting the use of fixed-term leases.

• On September 1, 2025, Yukon introduced a new rent increase guideline, tying rent increases to the consumer price index (with exceptions of up to three per cent above the guideline for up to three years for major renovations). Along with the guideline, Yukon introduced a new Residential Tenancies Act, which limits some no-fault evictions, prohibits the use of artificial intelligence to set rents, and clarifies the role of the Residential Tenancy Office. See CCHR’s recommendations to improve renter protections in Yukon.

In other jurisdictions, opposition parties are planning or introduced private members’ bills calling for stronger rent regulation, where rent regulation is weak and/or contains loopholes – for example, in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec – or where rent regulation does not exist at all – for example, in Saskatchewan. See CCHR’s commentary on the importance of strong rent regulation to protect renters in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and across the country.

3. Taking action on homelessness

• On January 14, 2025, Manitoba introduced a new plan to end chronic homelessness and created a new premier’s senior advisor on ending chronic homelessness to oversee the work. The province will coordinate efforts among non-profit organizations, Indigenous nations, and municipalities to move encampment residents into permanent housing, including by investing in new social housing with wraparound supports.
  
• On September 16, 2025, New Brunswick launched a ministerial task force on homelessness, which aims to coordinate efforts to address homelessness across relevant provincial departments. The task force will focus initially on developing a provincial homelessness strategy and establishing a community advisory council. It will provide regular reports to cabinet, quarterly public updates on chronic homelessness, and an annual public report.

4. Accelerating affordable housing development 

• On September 14, 2025, the federal government launched Build Canada Homes, a new agency responsible for affordable housing development across the country. See CCHR’s submission and analysis, where we highlight how Build Canada Homes marks an important shift in the federal government’s approach to affordable housing development by focusing on growing the supply of community housing. However, we also urge the government to ensure Build Canada Homes prioritizes those in greatest housing need by setting clear human rights-based targets, timelines, monitoring, and reporting mechanisms to end homelessness and housing need as quickly as possible.
  
• On October 22, 2025, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. launched the Igluvut Corporation, a new Inuit-led non-profit housing corporation responsible for delivering and managing affordable housing in the territory. The Igluvut Corporation will administer $135 million of funding through the Inuit Housing Fund, with initial plans to build up to 160 affordable units over five years, alongside supportive housing, seniors housing, and shelters.

5. Other notable developments 

In addition to launching its new homelessness strategy, Manitoba also took important steps to protect some of its community housing stock and require landlords to cover costs for renters forced to leave their homes due to health or safety issues. See CCHR’s deputation to the Manitoba Standing Committee on Legislative Affairs on the importance of ensuring landlords fulfill their obligations to provide safe and habitable homes for renters.

Right to housing misses

1. Backsliding on renters’ rights and criminalizing homelessness 

• In June 2025, Ontario quickly passed three deeply concerning housing-related laws that further criminalize people experiencing homelessness, undermine renters’ rights, and limit the creation of new affordable housing. See CCHR’s recommendations, where we highlight how these laws will accelerate the housing and homelessness crisis, and the importance of taking an evidence- and rights-based approach by building and protecting housing that is secure, affordable, and meets diverse community needs. CCHR also released a joint statement and joined 85 organizations pushing back against the province’s misguided approach to addressing the housing and homelessness crisis.

• On October 23, 2025, Ontario introduced a law that would accelerate evictions and reduce access to justice for renters. Following widespread advocacy, the government walked back initial plans to consult on introducing fixed term leases, which would have effectively eliminated rent control in the province. Nevertheless, the legislation still severely weakens security of tenure for renters and heavily favours landlords. See CCHR’s joint analysis and commentary, where we highlight how weakening renter protections will exacerbate the housing and homelessness crisis. CCHR also joined over 130 organizations calling for the province to repeal the law and for municipalities to advocate against it.

2. Weakening access to community housing 

Across the country, some jurisdictions either reduced or failed to ensure equitable access to community housing for those in greatest need:

• On May 15, 2025, Alberta introduced regulations to increase rents by 63 per cent for renters in community housing who receive provincial disability benefits. Advocates highlighted how this change will perpetuate poverty for people with disabilities and called for the policy to be reversed.

• On June 30, 2025, British Columbia announced that it was considering removing supportive housing from the Residential Tenancy Act. The province established a working group composed of supportive housing providers, law enforcement, union representatives, and government to consider the change. Meanwhile, advocates expressed concern that this would reduce protections and increase evictions of supportive housing renters.

• On July 9, 2025, Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP revealed that approximately 12.5 per cent of the province’s community housing units were vacant, while housing insecurity and homelessness grows across the province. The NDP called for improved community housing maintenance and coordinated planning to fill the vacancies and address the housing and homelessness crisis.

3. Failing to deliver affordable housing to those in need

• In March 2025, the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island released a report evaluating the province’s Affordable Housing Development Program. The audit found that the program failed to increase affordable housing for those in greatest need, building just over one-quarter of the units planned under the program. The audit recommended that the government establish clear performance measures, improve data collection, and conduct regular program evaluations.

• In May 2025, the Auditor General of Canada released a report showing that the Nunavut Housing Corporation failed to maintain and provide equitable access to community housing. The audit recommended that the Nunavut Housing Corporation improve monitoring of its housing allocations, ensure units are well-maintained, and provide equitable access to units that meet the needs of seniors and people with disabilities.

• In June 2025, the Auditor General of New Brunswick released a report evaluating the province’s housing strategy. The audit found that the New Brunswick Housing Corporation failed to provide timely maintenance and repairs, inspections, and adequate funding. The audit recommended that the New Brunswick Housing Corporation improve maintenance, inspections, and turnaround times for vacant units.

4. Other concerning trends 

• In addition to extending its rent cap in April 2025, Nova Scotia also introduced new provisions that allow landlords to issue an eviction notice if a rent payment is late by three days. Renters now have 10 days to pay the rent or dispute the eviction. Previously, landlords were required to wait 15 days to issue an eviction notice for non-payment of rent, and renters would have another 15 days to pay the rent or dispute the eviction. This change significantly reduces renters’ ability to maintain their housing and expedites the eviction process.

• In April 2025, Quebec introduced a new formula to calculate rent increases. Following an earlier proposal that also included net income, operating expenses, and service in the calculations, the new formula is based on the consumer price index, municipal and school taxes, insurance costs, and capital expenditures. Renter advocates warned the change favours landlords, arguing rent hikes are now tied to inflation and renovation potential, while interest rates and renovation costs are too volatile and complex to ensure predictability for renters.

Looking ahead 

Following a year of both progress and backsliding on the right to housing across the country, we look forward to upcoming opportunities to centre housing as a human right in the national discourse and in law and policy at all levels of government, through ongoing research, policy advocacy, law reform, and community engagement and mobilization.

1. Driving accountability for equity-deserving groups

Later this year, Neha, the National Housing Council review panel on the right to housing for women, Two Spirit, Trans, and gender-diverse people, will release recommendations for the federal government to uphold this right, following engagement with people with lived experience, housing rights organizations, and experts on human rights, housing, and social inequality. See CCHR’s recommendations, where we outline the impact of intersectional factors on housing security, gendered experiences of homelessness, Canada’s duty and failure to uphold the right to housing for women and gender-diverse people, and key principles and actions to realize this right. 

On June 12, 2025, the Federal Housing Advocate called for the National Housing Council to launch its next review panel to examine the lack of accessible housing across Canada, in light of the disproportionate rates of housing need and homelessness among people with disabilities. CCHR looks forward to engaging in this review panel and helping advance the right to housing for people with disabilities, drawing on our ongoing policy and research work in this area. 

2. Mobilizing around renters’ rights 

As we highlight in our analysis of the 2025 federal budget, attaching conditions for provinces and territories to access federal funding is critical to ensure an effective, coordinated approach to ending homelessness and housing need. The federal government exercised this power by using the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund as an incentive for provinces and territories to adopt elements of the Renters’ Bill of Rights. It also introduced a new Build Communities Strong Fund that has the potential to take a similar approach.

Building on our advocacy to date, we continue to call for the federal government to strengthen the Renters’ Bill of Rights and ensure that provinces and territories commit to implementing strong renter protections in order to access federal funding, including long-term affordability, security, and other critical protections for renters. At the same time, we look forward to ongoing work with provinces and territories to strengthen renter protections across the country – both in policy and in practice.

3. Engaging in collective action 

As noted above, CCHR was proud to join coalitions of advocates, researchers, and lived experts across various sectors – including housing, homelessness, health care, drug policy, disability justice, human rights, settlement, migrant justice, public transit, and more – to push back against harmful laws in Ontario. We are also active members of Right to Housing Toronto, Right to Housing Manitoba, National Right to Housing Network, and other community, legal, and research networks, where we work with partners across the country to advance the right to housing.

Looking ahead to 2026, we will continue building and engaging with coalitions to drive collective advocacy and action to end homelessness and housing need.

National Housing Day events

• Virtual: on November 20, join the Rural Development Network for its event focused on innovative, affordable, and community-led housing solutions across both rural and non-rural contexts in Canada. 

• Toronto, Ontario: on November 22, join tenants from across Ontario to march to Queens Park and rally against Bill 60, organized by York South-Weston Tenants, No Demovictions, ACORN Ontario, and the Encampment Justice Coalition. 

• Halifax, Nova Scotia: on November 24, join Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia as it convenes leaders, innovators, and decision-makers from across government, industry, and the non-profit sector to address the critical barriers to housing affordability and collaborate on actionable, scalable solutions that can shape the future of housing in Nova Scotia.