29 Applicants receive funding to develop their ideas

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home, and in order to do that, we need innovative ideas. That is why the Government of Canada has created the 5-year, $300 million Housing Supply Challenge to further support housing supply solutions.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, announced the 29 shortlisted applicants for Stage 2 of the second round, “Getting Started”, of the Housing Supply Challenge (see attached backgrounder). Applicants will receive $75,000 each to develop their solution.

The 29 shortlisted candidates will refine and develop a plan to implement their solution, using the incubation funding, by April 2022. The final results will be announced by July 2022. Those who will pass the final evaluation stage will share a pool of up to $38 million to implement their solutions.

The second round of the Housing Supply Challenge, Getting Started: Pre-development Processes, sought solutions to improve the pre-development process for housing that is affordable. Pre-development activities include everything that brings a housing project from idea to the start of construction.

The third round of the Housing Supply Challenge, Northern Access Round: Supply Chain Solutions for Northern and Remote Housing, invites residents and professionals to submit ideas and solutions to improve Canada’s housing supply chain in northern and remote regions. The application phase for this round launches on January 12, 2022.

Quote:

“Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Increasing the supply of housing requires innovative and disruptive thinking. The Housing Supply Challenge brings forward the best new ideas, backed by funding, to reality. Through the Getting Started round, we’re working hard to find solutions to solve the complex pre-construction barriers that are in the way of building affordable housing. This is the National Housing Strategy at at work!”

Quick facts:

• The 14 funding recipients of the first round, Data Driven, of the Housing Supply Challenge were announced on November 30, 2021.
• The Northern Access Round has a pool of up to $80M to fund and implement ideas that address these barriers.
• To help break barriers to housing supply, Budget 2019 provided $300 million in funding over five years to launch a Housing Supply Challenge to address housing supply and unlock new solutions for Canadians searching for an affordable place to call home.
• The Challenge aims to provide new resources and find solutions to housing supply barriers and provide a platform to share these models with communities across Canada.
• The Challenge will also help address barriers to housing supply and affordability, showcase new ideas and solutions and cultivate collaboration and partnerships.
• The Challenge is a component of Impact Canada, a Government of Canada-wide initiative to help departments accelerate the adoption of innovative funding approaches to deliver meaningful results to Canadians.
• The Housing Supply Challenge is delivered by Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) and CMHC has partnered with Evergreen on a support program to help applicants develop the most impactful solutions.
• The Challenge aligns with the National Housing Strategy and CMHC’s goal, that by 2030 everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs.
• Canada’s NHS is an ambitious, 10-year plan that will invest over $72 billion to give more Canadians a place to call home. Launched in 2017, the NHS will build and repair thousands of housing units, and help households with affordability support.

Associated links:

Find more information about the Housing Supply Challenge.

As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC’s aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.

Information on this release:

Daniele Medlej
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
Daniele.Medlej@infc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Backgrounder:

A brief description of each project is available on our Housing Supply Challenge Round 2 — Shortlisted Applicants website.