Housing experts and some stakeholders from across Canada, the United States and Europe recently met with the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) at a National Housing Strategy Expert Roundtable in Ottawa.

The Roundtable, which took place on October 5, was held to review and test key public and social policy elements related to the National Housing Strategy (NHS), and seek advice to finalize the strategy and ensure its success prior to its launch.

The NHS will be the first strategy of its kind in Canada. It aims to re-establish the federal role in housing and introduce key tools to fill critical gaps, respond to imbalances in housing markets and encourage innovation.

“I wish to extend a wholehearted ‘thank you’ to the housing experts, who invested their time, knowledge and provided their expertise … during the last several months, in order to help maximize the success of the forthcoming National Housing Strategy,” said Minister Duclos, in a press release. “The conversations that took place and feedback received are vital in ensuring the National Housing Strategy achieves the outcomes sought by our government.”

The feedback provided has been pivotal in the development of the NHS, as the government received hundreds of opinions through the consultation process in 2016, as well as targeted discussions in 2017. That feedback helped inform several of the proposed policies and programs under the NHS, which will be announced later this fall.