Canada launches $2 million funding initiative to demonstrate Land Assembly Solutions for Affordable Housing

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why the Government of Canada is helping to foster innovative solutions aimed at improving the availability of affordable housing.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), announced that up to $2 million in funding will be available under the National Housing Strategy (NHS) Demonstrations Initiative through the launch of the latest call for submissions on June 22, 2021.

The NHS Demonstrations Initiative highlights solutions that support the National Housing Strategy priority areas and population groups, to spur awareness, knowledge and scaling of promising practices, strategies, programs, policies and technologies.

The 2021 open call competition is targeting one specific area of high potential impact — Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and Land Assembly solutions that may ensure greater availability and access to land for affordable housing. Successful applicants are anticipated to receive  funding from $100,000 to $250,000 per project.

As with earlier editions of the competition, it is expected that the solutions from this call will support a culture of innovation by fostering partnerships, replication and scaling, as well as creating and disseminating real-world data for evidence-based decision-making.

To learn more about this funding opportunity, register to the June 22^nd virtual launch and visit the NHS Demonstrations Initiative program page at https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs/demonstration-initiative.

Quote:

“Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Increasing the supply of land for affordable housing requires innovative and disruptive thinking. The Demonstrations Initiative showcases the best new ideas ensuring that these can be repeated and scaled across Canada. This is the National Housing Strategy at work”

Quick facts:

• The NHS Demonstrations Initiative competitive open-call process occurs annually. The latest edition is accepting applications as of June 22, 2021.
• This call is open to those who wish to demonstrate Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and Land Assemblies solutions defined as follows:
  • Community Land Trusts (CLTs) can be defined as a private non-profit corporation created to acquire and hold land for the benefit of a community and provide secure affordable access to land and housing for community residents. They can be sector-led or community-led.
  • Land assembly solutions, in general, can be defined as models or approaches for acquiring, holding and managing land for affordable housing developments, for the benefit of local community.
    • Examples of such solutions may include, without being limited to:
      1. Land assembly for affordable housing led by public agencies;
      2. Land assembly for affordable housing on Indigenous-managed Lands;
      3. Land assembly for affordable housing led by municipalities.
    • For the purpose of this call for proposals, the proposed CLT or Land assembly solutions must focus on affordable housing outcomes and those meeting the specific needs of NHS population groups will be prioritized.
  • Experts interested in acting as reviewers are invited to manifest their interest by writing to Innovation-Research@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
  • The NHS includes $241 million over 10 years to support research on housing needs and conditions, the housing finance system, market stability and housing sector innovation.
  • Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a 10-year, $70+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home — this includes more than $13 billion committed through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement.

Associated links:

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. 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:

Mikaela Harrison
Office of the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
mikaela.harrison@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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