Three months into his tenure, Pedro shares his thoughts on Habitat’s role in Canada’s housing crisis and where the organization is heading next.

Tell us about yourself.

A – I'm a purpose-driven person. It's really anchored on my immigration experience. My parents came to Canada from Portugal and brought me along when I was 13 years old, with Winnipeg as my first home. I learned English there. I remember people were welcoming and inclusive – and so being a newcomer to Canada, for me, was quite a formative experience. Now I get to give back, and that’s pretty amazing.

For most of my life, I've been dedicated to building inclusive communities, trying to build a world where everybody has an opportunity to build a good life. And the issue of housing is maybe ground zero for achieving that mission. Right now, too many people are facing barriers in terms of finding a safe, affordable place to call home.

Why did you decide to join Habitat?

A – Habitat is at the centre of meeting that housing challenge, and it's doing it in a way that feels true and real to me. It's bottom-up, it's community-based, it's tangible, and it's fueled by just an incredible group of people who are really committed to seeing progress in very challenging times. Who wouldn't want to be part of that movement and of that mission? So, I'm super happy to be here.

You've been at Habitat for a few months. How is it going so far?

A – I came here for a purpose, for people and for possibility. And on all three counts, I have found exactly what I was looking for and what I think that Canada needs – which is finding new solutions and a way forward for housing affordability with homeownership within the housing continuum. Habitat is fueled by amazing people, people who work in community on the ground level right across this country, and who bring people together from all walks of life to find those solutions. I believe in possibility, that we can change things.

What challenges do you think Habitat is up against?

A – We're lucky at Habitat that we get to wake up every morning and put our minds and energy to work to figure out the issues around housing affordability. We're not the only organization or the only people in this space, and all of us are struggling with the same things: An unresponsive market, higher interest rates, cost of living issues, precarious work. All of this combined with the cost of building is becoming untenable. It creates a big challenge, one that we’re trying to get ahead of.

If there's one thing that's important to understand, it’s that Habitat is innovative: this movement has brought in new financing models, innovation in building materials, scaling up builds where possible to construct multi-residential units. There has been so much innovation and adaptability through the decades. And here we are at another juncture, but we have a track record and a history of evolving to meet this challenge. The wonderful thing about us is that we're 45 local Habitats strong. So, if something starts to light up in one part of the country, it can catch fire, and we can quickly scale it up. But we also have to remember that the continuum really matters, and affordable homeownership needs to grow side by side with rental supply. Because there will always be people who will want to own their own home.

At Habitat we like to talk about mission moments — a time when we see Habitat’s mission in action. Is there a particularly moving moment you can describe in the last few months where you’ve seen our mission in action?

A – Part of being new in my role is being invited to tour various communities. I attended my first key ceremony (a symbolic event when new Habitat families are presented with the keys to their homes), in Kemptville, Ontario for a 15-unit stacked townhome build – a partnership between Habitats for Humanity Greater Ottawa and Thousand Islands, which was incredible.

Just as magical, four decades after landing in Winnipeg with my parents for a new life, I got to attend a Habitat key ceremony in the same city for 15 new families. I got to be a small part of making magic happen for new generations.

I’ve also been to several Habitat Restores in Ontario, in Waterloo, Hamilton and in the Greater Toronto Area, and I love the opportunity of meeting the many long-time volunteers who are making everything work at the back of the stores, who nobody ever sees. Unsung heroes of Habitat.

What’s your vision for Habitat over the next few years?

A – To build strong, inclusive communities based on everyone having a safe, affordable place to call home. And we’ve got to get there faster and do it on a bigger scale. We have the playbook. Our playbook is that we are local, we're practical, we deliver tangible results. And we bring people together both at the community level, but also policy makers, donors, volunteers. We bring this entire formula together to find housing solutions. And once we find them, to allow ourselves to replicate, to scale, and to grow our impact. We need to allow ourselves to try out new things, really understand whether they work or not, and give ourselves the opportunity to grow those models and to spread them across the Habitat movement. That’s how we're going to get to real impact.

What does home mean to you?

A – Home to me is about past, present and future. As an immigrant, thankfully my family and I found community that helped us settle quickly. Home for me is knowing that after a good day's work, I can find peace, rest, love, my little dog and a great community. It's about having a place that gives me comfort and that gives me the hope that we can do more, and that we don't have to worry about the basics. Everybody deserves that.

Watch the full interview here: