(November 21, 2023) – Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland tabled the 2023 Fall Economic Statement , described as a plan to build more homes, and make life more affordable.

Canada is struggling through a dramatically worsening housing crisis. Millions of Canadians – particularly those with lower incomes – have been experiencing rapidly rising housing costs driven in large part by an extreme supply shortfall.

The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) has been calling for the Government of Canada to urgently put ambitious policy measures in place to scale up Canada’s supply of community housing. We are pleased with the measures announced today and emphasize that bold action is still needed to fully address the country’s affordable housing shortfalls.

With a supply gap of 4.3 million homes affordable to very low- and low-income households, the $1 billion in new funding for the Affordable Housing Fund (formerly National Housing Co-Investment Fund) is welcome. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that this funding alone is insufficient to fully address Canada’s housing shortage.

CHRA is pleased with adjustments to the previously announced Co-operative Housing Development Program so this long-awaited program can move forward.

CHRA is also pleased that the Government of Canada will be removing GST from new co-op housing development projects. We continue to call for non-market housing projects currently under construction to be eligible for the GST exemption as well.

CHRA looks forward to our continued collaboration with the Government of Canada to create a fulsome package of policy measures in the 2024 federal budget that supports the scale-up of the supply of community housing in Canada. These measures must include support for a national rental preservation fund and working with the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. (NICHI) to roll out funding for housing for Indigenous peoples living in urban, rural, and northern areas.

“Federal housing policies and programs need to reflect the fact that housing is the foundation of everything,” said Margaret Pfoh, President of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association and Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, “the measures announced today are a step in the right direction, but bolder action is needed, including the rollout of adequate funding to meet the urgent, unmet needs of Indigenous peoples living in urban, rural, and northern communities.”

“Community housing is more than a social good – it’s an economic necessity. The measures announced today are a solid step in the government’s renewed approach to fighting the housing crisis, but we need bolder action to scale up Canada’s supply of community housing to strengthen the economy, and improve Canadians’ standard of living,” said Ray Sullivan, Executive Director of CHRA.

For more information, contact:

Jacob Gorenkoff
Director, Policy & Government Relations
jgorenkoff@chra-achru.ca
C: 416-893-8185