Vincent Tong selected as the new permanent CEO of BC Housing

BC Housing CEO Vincent Tong (BC Housing/Google Streetview)

Vincent Tong will stay in his role as the head of provincial Crown corporation BC Housing.

It was announced today by the Government of British Columbia that Tong will remain as the CEO of BC Housing on a permanent basis. This decision was made following a “rigorous search.”

He has been the interim CEO of BC Housing since September 2022, when Shayne Ramsay stepped down from the position after 22 years.

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“The BC Housing board of commissioners wanted a transformational leader to guide the organization through its evolution, and we found that leader in Vincent Tong,” said Allan Seckel, chair of the board of commissioners for BC Housing, in a statement.

“Under Vincent’s leadership, BC Housing has been taking significant steps to strengthen our organizational structure and capacity, financial systems, governance practices, and policies related to oversight, transparency and conflict of interest.”

Prior to becoming the CEO on a temporary basis, Tong, who is a trained urban planner, was the vice president of development and asset strategies, which was his first role with BC Housing upon joining the Crown corporation in July 2021.

Between 2010 and 2021, he worked for Toronto Community Housing, including holding various leadership positions in the non-profit organization, which is owned by the City of Toronto to manage Canada’s largest social housing operator and the second largest in North America.

“I’m honoured to have the opportunity to continue leading the transformation at BC Housing,” said Tong. “This is a pivotal time in BC where people are struggling to secure affordable housing… I look forward to continuing to work with BC Housing’s dedicated employees, along with our provincial partners, the non-profit housing sector and municipal partners as we work together to address the housing crisis that affects us all.”

BC Housing has credited Tong for implementing a number of major reforms in the Crown corporation’s operations since Fall 2022, including “modernizing the leadership structure to consolidate accountabilities,” hiring new in-house legal counsel to provide greater oversight on legal issues, increasing board oversight of development projects, strengthening oversight of BC Housing’s contracted non-profit housing operators, creating new whistleblower protections, and developing more comprehensive standards of conduct policy.

“I’m confident that the BC Housing board has made the right decision in selecting Vincent Tong as CEO,” said Ravi Kahlon, BC Minister of Housing. “He has done a tremendous job leading the organization through a challenging period, and I look forward to working with him as we deliver on our government’s commitment to deliver housing solutions for British Columbians all over the province.”

There has been heightened criticism and scrutiny over BC Housing’s operations in recent years, which triggered the provincial government’s decision to conduct a forensic investigation of the organization.

Late last month, the provincial government announced it received the report on the forensic investigation by the Office of the Comptroller General and had begun to take the “appropriate steps to release as much information to the public as the law permits.” The report has yet to be released, but it is widely expected to build on the findings of the previous initial highly critical review by Ernst & Young. Over half of BC Housing’s previous board of directors were suddenly removed and replaced in July 2022 following the release of findings of the initial review.

BC Housing’s mandate and budget has grown exponentially under BC NDP governance since 2017, and much of the recently announced new multibillion-dollar housing plan to catalyze tens of thousands of units will be executed through the reformed Crown corporation.

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