Our message this election: A stronger Canada starts with home

Canada’s housing system can feel like an unfair game stacked against Canadians. Rising cost of living, unpredictable mortgage rates, unaffordable rents and rising home prices means more and more Canadians are falling behind. A trade dispute only makes the situation more urgent, potentially pushing more people out of jobs and homes and towards unsuitable housing and homelessness.

In response, Habitat for Humanity and a coalition of leading housing organizations are launching a bold new campaign to End the Housing Game. We’re calling on all federal parties to build a housing safety net to ensure that every Canadian has a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home.

The campaign captures the anxiety Canadians are experiencing, as well as the need for hope. Canadians are invited to add their voice to the campaign and receive the tools they need to speak to election candidates and become advocates for a resilient housing system.

Advocating for a resilient housing system

The Housing Canada Coalition, consisting of Habitat for Humanity, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association and the Canadian Real Estate Association, has put forward a plan that ensures every Canadian has a safe, decent, and affordable home.

Together, we propose 10 key ideas that can help Canada address the challenges ahead of us – from immediate measures to protect Canadians, to medium and long-term measures that will build a more resilient housing system that works for everyone.

To build a resilient housing system, we need to:

1. Create an immediate housing safety net to protect Canadians from the impacts of labour market disruptions and an economic downturn.
2. Protect renters from falling into homelessness.
3. Double the share of community housing, including affordable home ownership.
4. Ensure access to the land and infrastructure needed to build.
5. Create resilient housing material supply chains that can withstand tariffs and trade barriers.
6. Develop a housing skills agenda that equips Canada’s workforce.
7. Reform taxes to facilitate home building.
8. Streamline permissions to accelerate home building.
9. Accelerate innovation to more quickly build less expensive and better homes.
10. Rapidly expand Indigenous urban, rural, and northern housing to meet the housing needs of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples and communities.