Canada announces support for rapid housing in London

London, Ontario, July 26, 2021

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for affordable housing and led to rising levels of homelessness. The Government of Canada created a national strategy to build hundreds of thousands of units and provide affordable housing to people across the country. By continuing to make investments in affordable housing, the government is building stronger communities, creating jobs, and growing our middle class, while fighting homelessness and helping vulnerable Canadians.

Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Kate Young, Member of Parliament for London West, Peter Fragiskatos, Member of Parliament for London North Centre, and Ed Holder, Mayor of the City of London, today announced $10.8 million to create an estimated 49 new affordable homes for individuals and families in London through the Cities Stream under expanded Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI). These housing units will support Canadians who are in uncertain housing situations, experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or living in temporary shelters because of the pandemic.

This is in addition to the Government of Canada’s previous investment of $7.5 million through the first phase of the Rapid Housing Initiative to support the creation of 61 housing units in the City of London.

In its initial round, with funding of $1 billion announced in October 2020, the RHI exceeded its original target of 3,000 permanent affordable housing units and achieved 4,700 units nationally. Due to this success, an additional $1.5 billion for the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) was recently announced to create 4,500 new units of permanent affordable housing across the country. Thanks to this expansion, this initiative will now create over 9,200 affordable homes for the most vulnerable Canadians across the country.

This new investment will create thousands of good jobs in the housing and construction sector, grow the middle class, and build back stronger communities, while getting us closer to our goal of eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada.

The federal government also announced an investment of $11.6 million to build a 65-unit apartment complex at 191 Commissioners Road W. This project, proposed by P.A.M. Gardens Non-profit Housing, will provide a mix of affordable and market rent units, including 33 allocated to vulnerable individuals and those on London’s housing waitlist.

The funding for 191 Commissioners Road W. is being delivered through CMHC’s National Housing Co-Investment Fund (NHCF), which supports new and revitalization construction of mixed-income, mixed-tenure, and mixed-use affordable housing. The NHCF is a key pillar of the Government of Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS).

Quotes:

“Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Today's funding through the Rapid Housing Initiative and the National Housing Co-Investment Fund will go a long way to support those who need it most by providing approximately 115 new homes for vulnerable individuals and families in London to keep them safe. This is one of the ways our National Housing Strategy continues to ensure no one is left behind.”
— The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

“Our Government is taking steps, right now, to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home, and that includes rapidly building new affordable homes right here in London. Investments by this government will go a long way to effectively support those who are in the most housing need, by quickly providing new permanent affordable housing units to vulnerable individuals and families. This is the National Housing Strategy at work.”
— Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development

“We have seen how COVID-19 has worsened existing housing and homelessness challenges and without urgent action by the Government of Canada, the pandemic could lead to a dramatic increase in homelessness. Creating housing rapidly right here in London to address this housing crisis is a priority for our Government. The funding we announced today is part of our commitment to addressing severe housing needs across the country. It will provide immediate support to create safe and stable housing for vulnerable individuals and families.”
— Kate Young, Member of Parliament for London West

“This investment is a crucial step towards ensuring that the most vulnerable among us have access to the housing and supports that meet their needs. Housing is about dignity. As a result of today’s announcement, we are acting to meet the unique housing needs of our city so that residents of London can be safe and can continue to thrive.”
— Peter Fragiskatos, Member of Parliament for London North Centre

“We’ve made it our goal in London to achieve functional zero for chronic homelessness within five years, and these types of strategic investments are what’s going to help us get there. Solving this crisis speaks to who we are as a community, and who we are as Londoners. We have everyone pulling in the same direction on this issue, and I am grateful to our partners at the Federal Government and CMHC for their ongoing support.”
— Ed Holder, Mayor of London

“It was an honour to be chosen for funding through the CMHC’s Co Investment Fund. PAM Gardens has been housing people in London for over 30 years and is proud to be involved in the development of the new VIDA project. It has also been a refreshing and rewarding experience watching all levels of government, CMHC, consultants, contractors and housing providers working together towards a common goal of giving people a necessity of life.”
— Fil Abrantes, PAM Gardens

Quick facts:

The RHI is delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), under the National Housing Strategy (NHS).
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.
The RHI is a $1 billion program launched in October 2020 to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians, especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of affordable housing.
Due to this success, an additional $1.5 billion for the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) was recently announced through Budget 2021 with $500 million in funding under the Cities Stream being allocated to the following municipalities: Burnaby, Calgary, Capital Regional District, Durham, Edmonton, Gatineau, Greater Sudbury, Halifax, Hamilton, Iqaluit, Kingston, Laval, London, Longueil, Montreal, Niagara, Ottawa, Peel, Quebec, Regina, Saskatoon, Surrey, St. John’s, Toronto, Vancouver, Waterloo, Whitehorse, Windsor, Winnipeg, and Yellowknife. Under the Projects Stream: $1 billion will be allocated to eligible applications submitted during the RHI’s initial application period last fall and having not yet received funding.
Based on feedback from stakeholders, CMHC has introduced new flexibilities to the RHI:
- Program applicants will be eligible to receive funding for additional forms of new construction beyond modular, if units can be built within 12 months.
- Non-profits will now have an opportunity to demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to support the viability of units without government subsidy (self-funded).
- Cities will have a longer time to submit projects (60 days instead of 30).
- Project delivery timelines have been adjusted for projects located in the North and special access communities.
At least 25 per cent of this new funding will go toward women-focused housing projects. The units will be built within 12 months of when funding is provided to program applicants.
The RHI will continue to prioritize proposals that target units serving Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups. It will also continue to provide flexibilities on timelines to Indigenous governing bodies or organizations as needed.
Due to the considerable response during the first round of the Projects Stream, many eligible applications remain unfunded. Applicants with eligible proposals from the first round of RHI that have not yet received funding will be contacted directly with further details.
The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and other vulnerable people under the NHS, including: women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people experiencing mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ2 individuals, racialized and Black Canadians, and recent immigrants or refugees.
CMHC supports the government’s efforts to improve the well-being of Canadians facing housing and homelessness challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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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, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.