Our Goal: Achieving Housing Affordability for All

February 7, 2019

Evan SiddallPresident and CEO

Across Canada, 1.7 million households (13%) were in core housing need in 2016, spending more than 30% of their pre-tax income on shelter. Female-led households are particularly disadvantaged, with 28% in core housing need, a measure that is far higher for Indigenous households, especially on reserve. In a country as prosperous as ours, these levels of hardship are hard to take.

I am therefore proud that CMHC is leading federal initiatives under the National Housing Strategy, a 10-year, $40-billion plan to expand and sustain the supply of affordable housing in Canada that was launched in November 2017. In fact, we hope to do even more. CMHC’s aspirational goal is to eliminate housing need, to ensure that:

“By 2030, everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs.”

We feel responsible to set a bold objective. At CMHC, our job isn’t just to implement the federal government’s housing programs. We need to redouble our own efforts, and we are re-organizing and modernizing our company to do exactly that.

The hope of affordable, adequate homes for all is what guides us. It is our north star, our raison d’être. Having a home helps Canadians stay employed, access health care, save, do better in school and participate more fully in society. Housing affordability supports a stronger, safer Canada marked by sustainable economic growth and social inclusion.

Achieving adequate, affordable housing for everyone in Canada is a daunting task, and the federal government cannot afford to act alone. We also need to mobilize the non-profit and co-operative housing sectors to focus our combined energies with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, philanthropists, lenders, developers and social entrepreneurs on the future of housing.

Matthew Desmond, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted, called home the “wellspring of personhood,” a place “where our identity takes root and blossoms.” As Canadians, our collective sense of fairness and open-heartedness means we have a chance of giving everyone that head start and the dignity of a home. We will show our better selves by ensuring housing for all.

Evan SiddallPresident and CEO

Evan Siddall is the President and CEO of CMHC. He leads a team of housing experts who share the single goal that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs. You can find Evan on LinkedIn and Twitter.