Administration of social housing

Social Housing Administered by CMHC

CMHC directly administers a portion of the existing social housing portfolio in the provinces of Prince Edward Island and Québec, as well as federal co-operative housing programs in British Columbia and Ontario. Some of CMHC’s social housing is administered on a fee-for-service basis (as is the case with the Agency for Co-operative Housing, a non-profit, non-governmental organization incorporated under the Canada Cooperatives Act). CMHC continues to administer its on-reserve housing portfolio in all provinces and territories.

Social Housing Administered by Provinces and Territories

The Government of Canada announced in its 1996 Budget that it would offer provinces and territories the opportunity to assume the management and delivery of existing off-reserve federally-funded social housing in order to clarify roles and responsibilities in housing. This initiative streamlines administrative arrangements in social housing, providing for one-stop shopping for clients and encouraging the best possible use of public funds.

While the federal government continues to honour its long-term obligations to housing, the provinces and territories are responsible for ownership, management and administration of the housing stock. Today, about 80% of the existing social housing stock is administered by the provinces and territories under Social Housing Agreements (SHA), or other long-term arrangement.

Provinces and territories who signed an SHA are subject to national principles and an accountability framework that ensures that federal subsidies continue to flow to lower-income households. Provinces and territories can retain savings in federal funding for reinvestment in the existing stock or new assisted housing activity.

CMHC has signed SHAs with Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Yukon, Manitoba, Nunavut, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.