CMHC 2021 Housing Research Awards

Ottawa, November 26, 2021

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) today recognized the recipients of its 2021 Housing Research Awards for their outstanding work which will help address the deep, longstanding inequities in our housing system.

“Research projects like the ones we’re honouring today help us better identify and break down housing barriers faced by Indigenous and other racialized communities in Canada, and to better understand the unique housing needs of these communities. They help reveal best practices that can point us to a more equitable future,” said Romy Bowers, CMHC President and Chief Executive Officer, who presented the awards during a virtual ceremony.

CMHC’s Housing Research Awards recognize and promote excellence and innovation in research and help foster a better understanding of housing needs and solutions that help Canadians access housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. The program is part of the Government of Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS).

The Housing Research Award Winners for 2021:

The CMHC President’s Medal for outstanding Housing Research ($20,000)

The President’s Medal is our highest honour. It recognizes a significant research contribution that helps us achieve our aspiration to make housing affordable for everyone in Canada. Each year, the medal focuses on research in one of the National Housing Strategy’s priority areas — specifically a priority identified by CMHC’s President. The priority for 2021 was: Racialized Groups and Housing in Canada. While we recognize that racialized groups face particular barriers to affordable, adequate housing, there is still much we need to learn in order to break down these barriers. The recipient is:

Nick Falvo Consulting in Calgary, Alberta. Mr. Falvo accepted the award for his group’s project on improving housing stability among Indigenous residents at Horizon Housing in Calgary. This research sought to shed light on what might reduce the rate of negative exits among Indigenous residents at Horizon Housing, a non-profit affordable housing provider in Calgary. The research suggests Indigenous residents may experience more positive housing outcomes if they had access to: on-site cultural programming; Elders; and opportunities to smudge. Further, by enhancing its resident orientation process, Horizon could work with residents, partner agencies and Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for Indigenous residents.

The Gold Roof Award for housing research excellence ($10,000)

The award recognizes research that increases our understanding in one of the priority areas of the National Housing Strategy, and that leads to impacts within the academic or housing sector. One of this year’s two recipients is:

Maroine Bendaoud of Montreal, Que. Mr. Bendaoud, of the Université de Montréal led the research entitled: L’État-providence soutient qui et comment? Le logement des ménages à revenu modeste dans trois provinces canadiennes, 1975 - 2015. The research examined who benefited from government funding in housing for low-to moderate-income households in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia from 1975 to 2015, and how they benefitted. One of the major changes in provincial housing assistance policies is the socio-demographic profile of beneficiary groups. In recent decades, these policies have shifted from policies that were relatively all-encompassing for supporting low- to moderate-income families and independent seniors to policies that are much more targeted to the vulnerable groups identified in the National Housing Strategy.

The other recipient is: Sheldon Tetreault, of Surrey, B.C. Mr. Tetreault, who is with the City of Surrey’s Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee, accepted the award for his group’s work: Skookum Housing Solutions: Innovative Indigenous Research in Surrey, BC. The research reveals two priority areas for housing investment that would make a direct and meaningful impact on Indigenous child and youth poverty in Surrey: affordable rental housing for families, especially single-parent families; and housing opportunities for young people, Elders, single adults and multi-generational families Skookum Housing Solutions is a social innovation lab for Indigenous-led research on housing that combines traditional research methods with innovative, Indigenous approaches to develop a deeper understanding.

The CMHC Gold Roof Award for knowledge to action ($10,000)

The award recognizes projects that link excellent research and what is done with that knowledge in the housing sector. The recipient is:

The K’asho Got’ı̨nę Housing Society, of Fort Good Hope, N.W.T. Arthur Tobac accepted the award for his group’s K’asho Got’ı̨nę House Assessment Research Project. This research addresses three key questions: 1) What are the conditions of privately owned homes in Fort Good Hope? 2) How would repair and maintenance affect the condition of these homes? 3) What are the most impactful repair and maintenance actions to improve the condition of these homes? The project directly addresses housing outcomes related to Indigenous people and speaks to the specific conditions on Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories.

Research is a key component for CMHC to reach our aspiration: that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs. The Housing Research Awards program provides monetary awards for impactful housing research that will build on and sustain Canada’s research-based knowledge culture across all fields, including social sciences and humanities, health and technology. A panel of experts reviewed the applications following a stringent set of criteria to identify the projects with the potential to have the greatest impact on housing affordability and advancements in housing research.

The program is an integral component of the NHS — an ambitious 10-year, $70 billion+ plan that will 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. Through this NHS initiative, the Government of Canada is committed to supporting research on housing needs and conditions in order to help more Canadians access housing that meets their needs and that they can afford.

CMHC supports the housing market and financial system stability by providing support for Canadians in housing need, and by offering housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.