Research grant assessing long-term housing outcomes

Ottawa, April 20, 2023

Today Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in partnership with Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) announced the recipients of a $4.8 million National Housing Strategy Longitudinal Outcomes Research Grant to examine long term outcomes of investments in affordable housing.

William O’Brien of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and Jacqueline Kennelly from the Sociology and Anthropology Department, both of Carleton University, will co-direct a research project entitled: A Safe and Affordable Place to Call Home: A Multi-disciplinary Longitudinal Outcomes Analysis of the National Housing Strategy. The research will examine socio-economic and health outcomes; climate impacts and mitigation; housing finance; housing alternatives; and Indigenous and northern housing.

They will be joined by research teams from Carleton, University of Cape Breton, University of Saskatchewan, University of Toronto, Trent University, Laurentian University, Western University, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, and University of New Brunswick – Canada.

The grant, awarded through the National Housing Strategy (NHS), will provide $410,000 for the first year and up to $1.1 million for the following four years, up to a total of $4.8 million.

The research will also assess the effectiveness of efforts to include a rights-based approach to housing for all people living in Canada, which means adhering to principles of non-discrimination, inclusion, participation and accountability, as set out in the NHS. It will also look at meaningful alternatives to existing models of affordable housing supported by the NHS, a 10-year, more than $82 billion plan to give more people in Canada a place to call home. Infrastructure Canada is also supporting the research with $20,000 per year for five years through in-kind services of one senior analysist examining data.

This project stems from commitments under the NHS announced in 2022 to provide longitudinal research partnership funding. The funding was established to attract large, multi-disciplinary research teams of life scientists, social scientists, engineers, and environmental scientists to work collaboratively. Research teams selected for the grants are to examine the long-term health, socio-economic, and climate change outcomes of investments in affordable housing, and the links between housing, health, socio-economic, and environmental factors at the household and community levels.

Quotes:

“This research will help us better understand how our housing programs and initiatives impact the lives of Canadians over the longer term. It will be useful in assessing our progress and success, address potential gaps and help us continue to move forward in a positive way.”
— Nadine Leblanc, Senior Vice-President of Policy for CMHC

“Affordable housing is a subject of great importance to Canadians. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is proud to be among the agencies supporting this multi-disciplinary research, which will surely take us one step closer to achieving a common goal: making housing safe and affordable in all communities.”
— Ted Hewitt, President, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Additional information:

For more information, visit National Housing Strategy Longitudinal Outcomes Research Grant web page.

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