A new report commissioned by the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) and Housing Partnership Canada forecasts the economic benefits that would come from raising the nation’s community housing stock. The research, conducted by Deloitte, shows that increasing Canada’s community housing supply to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) recommended average by 2030 would boost economic productivity by up to 9.3 per cent, resulting in an increase in GDP by an estimated $67 to $136 billion.

“Community housing has traditionally been seen as a social service, but now we know it is also critical economic infrastructure,” said Ray Sullivan, Executive Director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. “The causal link between community housing and productivity is too great to ignore.”  

CHRA estimates that the gains to the economy would outweigh the costs associated with creating the additional community housing stock within just a couple of years. To get there, the report includes the following five policy recommendations:

1. Increase investment in community housing to boost productivity and Canada’s GDP.
2. Commit to stable and predictable funding, financing, and tax incentives to build new homes and equip community housing providers with the resources to renew or acquire existing units over a long horizon.
3. Provide dedicated funding for urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing.
4. Improve collaboration across provincial governments, municipalities, and builders to tackle the housing crisis.
5. Support Canadian innovation that builds housing more quickly, sustainably, and affordably.

“Our Indigenous housing research shows that the return on investment in social and affordable housing programs is more than seven times the benefit over the cost,” said Margaret Pfoh, President of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association; Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association. “Providing people with dignified homes is not only morally imperative, it’s the law. Human rights include the right to housing because housing is the foundation of everything and without it, the fabric of our society starts to disintegrate.”