Federal agency wants to make housing affordable for every Canadian by 2030

Calling it a “bold objective,” the head of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said he wants to see “everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs.”

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When does he want this by? The year 2030 – or put another way, just 11 years from now.

The idea, and the plan on how to get there was laid out by CMHC President, Evan Siddall.

“The hope of affordable, adequate homes for all is what guides us,” he said. “It is our north star, our raison d’être. Having a home helps Canadians stay employed, access health care, save, do better in school and participate more fully in society.”

Housing affordability, he added, “supports a stronger, safer Canada marked by sustainable economic growth and social inclusion.”

As such, Siddall said that the CMHC is “leading federal initiatives” under the National Housing Strategy, a 10-year, $40-billion plan, launched in November 2017, to expand and sustain the supply of affordable housing in Canada.

He added that the CMHC’s job isn’t just to just to implement the federal government’s housing programs.

Rather, “we need to redouble our own efforts, and we are re-organizing and modernizing our company to do exactly that.”

Siddall noted that figures from 2016 showed that across the country,  1.7 million households (13%) were in core housing need – spending more than 30% of their pre-tax income on shelter.

“Achieving adequate, affordable housing for everyone in Canada is a daunting task, and the federal government cannot afford to act alone,” he said. “We also need to mobilize the non-profit and co-operative housing sectors to focus our combined energies with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, philanthropists, lenders, developers and social entrepreneurs on the future of housing.”