Minister Statement

Ottawa, Ontario, November 22, 2022

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. National Housing Day is an opportunity to come together with housing partners, stakeholders, and Canadians across the country to recognize and showcase their work and commitment to creating more inclusive and affordable housing in Canada.

In 2017, our government launched the National Housing Strategy (NHS) — a $72 billion plan to create more affordable housing and thousands of well-paying middle-class jobs. It is one of the biggest investments in housing by any Canadian government. The NHS is built on the principles of inclusion, affordability, support for vulnerable people and Indigenous housing, and evidence-based decision-making. In keeping with these principles, this winter, our government will be providing a one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, a tax-free payment of $500 to an estimated 1.8 million low-income renters struggling with the cost of housing. Those eligible can begin applying for the payment starting December 12, 2022.

We know that there is more work to be done to ensure that all Canadians have access to quality, affordable housing, and we are committed to working with our partners to make this a reality. It is essential that we build a country that provides housing to its most vulnerable and prevents those at risk of homelessness from succumbing to such a fate. It is therefore important that we continue to work alongside provinces, territories, municipalities, and with Indigenous partners to make meaningful progress in achieving the vision of the NHS.

On this National Housing Day, I also want to recognize that people across this country still face challenges when it comes to housing affordability. I want to reaffirm our government’s unwavering commitment to tackling this issue. We remain steadfast in our belief in taking a human rights-based approach to housing.

Although we have made progress, there is still much more to do. Together, we can make safe and affordable housing a reality for all Canadians, and help them build the lives that they want for themselves and their families.