Ask an Expert: CMHC at 80

00:00:00:00

[Visual: Clips scroll past: new residential homes with “For Sale” signs in the yards, vehicles crossing a city intersection at night, two condominium buildings rising toward a blue sky, and a high-rise building under construction at sunset.]

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00:00:04:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing, CMHC]

80 years ago, Canada faced a housing shortage. Returning World War II veterans needed homes fast.

[Visual: Archival images scroll past: a crowd gathered on a street under a banner that reads, “Welcome Home From The Wars!”, a woman painting a scale miniature of a single-family home, a newspaper article titled, “CMHC Celebrates Canada’s Millionth Post-War House,” a row of new single-family homes, a woman working at a desk in front of shelves packed with documents, a row of houses on a street, a group of Inuit people standing outside modular homes in the Arctic, a sketch of a single-family home, Habitat 67, a colour image of 2 smiling women in front of a file shelf, 2 cranes rising over a concrete building frame, and the red-brick CMHC national headquarters.]

That’s when CMHC was created to respond to Canada’s housing shortage and help expand access to homeownership.

[Visual: Joelle sits behind a desk in front of a blue background. She wears a leopard-print blazer over a black top. A mug, a mouse, a keyboard and a tablet sit on the desktop.]

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Since then, tens of millions of Canadians have secured housing through CMHC’s mortgage loan insurance.

[Visual: Clips scroll past: 4 people wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests walk toward a concrete building frame on a construction site, cranes rise over 2 concrete high-rise condominium frames, and labourers work on a large open rooftop covered with grates.]

Today, the challenge looks different, but the pressure for housing is just as urgent.

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[A year counter rises from 1940 to 2026 next to a photo montage: a smiling man in a suit smoking at a desk covered with documents, a car parked outside a house, 2 women walking outside Habitat 67, a man and a woman speaking in front of a file shelf in an office, a group of professionals posing with hard hats bearing the CMHC logo while holding a ribbon with the CMHC logo printed on it, a man wearing a headset working at a computer desk in a cubicle, a row of professionals seated at a conference table, a group of people in CMHC hard hats posing with a Habitat for Humanity sign outside a house under construction, and a group of people in business wear posing with a sign that reads “Building More Homes” outside a new multi-unit condominium building.]

CMHC’s role has grown over the decades, opening more doors to homeownership, strengthening rental housing, and helping steady housing finance through periods of change.

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Today, CMHC sits at the core of Canada’s housing system, helping it adapt and respond as pressure, demand and expectations continue to rise, and that role continues to shape how housing works across the country.

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So where does CMHC fit today and why does it matter?

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About 95% of Canadians live in market housing, homes that they own or rent at market rates.

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We spoke with CMHC President and CEO Coleen Volk about how CMHC supports that system today.

00:01:26:00

[Visual: Coleen Volk sits in an office. She wears glasses with a black blazer over a long pink dress. Behind her, a window overlooks leafy trees and a monitor at a computer desk displays the CMHC logo.]

[Speaker: Coleen Volk, President and CEO, CMHC]

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I often say that CMHC is the foundation of Canada’s housing system. We help keep that system stable, resilient, and working well. We do that through reliable and innovative housing finance solutions, trusted expertise, and the strong relationships we’ve built over the past 80 years.

[Visual: Clips scroll past: professional teams meeting in offices, individual professionals meeting with couples in an office and in a home, a woman addressing a group in a bright conference room, several colleagues speaking around a table, a woman talking to a man and a woman in an office, 3 people standing around a table covered with floor plans and hard hats at a construction site.]

Our purpose is simple: helping ensure the housing system works for Canadians in good times and in challenging ones. Fulfilling that purpose takes more than financial tools. It also requires knowledge, insight, and a deep understanding of the housing system.

[Visual: Clips scroll past: a man opening a laptop, 2 people discussing printed charts, professionals speaking around a table in a meeting room, Parliament Hill in Ottawa, a professional writing on a document behind a miniature house and stacks of coins, men wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests studying blueprints inside a wood house frame, an advisor speaking with clients in an office, a man in a jacket shaking hands with a smiling man standing next to a smiling woman, and a Canadian flag waving in front of a blue sky.]

That’s why we contribute research, data, and expertise built over decades, helping governments, financial institutions, builders, and housing partners make more informed decisions and work toward better housing outcomes for Canadians.

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We also work closely with our federal partners, including Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and Build Canada Homes, to help align efforts across government. Together, these contributions support the flow of housing finance and help keep Canada’s housing system functioning effectively.

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00:02:35:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing, CMHC]

That’s how the system works today, but what’s next?

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Housing is a top concern for Canadians. Whether they’re buying, renting or trying to understand where things are headed.

[Visual: Coleen sits in the office.]

00:02:50:00

[Speaker: Coleen Volk, President and CEO, CMHC]

That’s the reality we’re working in every day. The housing market fluctuates, but housing needs don’t. That’s why we have to keep a steady focus on the long term and make sure short-term pressures don’t come at the expense of future housing needs.

When the housing finance system is stable and functioning well, good things happen. Lenders can lend. Builders can build. Canadians can access the financing they need. And ultimately, more housing gets built.

That’s where CMHC plays an important role. We use our commercial tools and expertise to help the housing system work better today, while preparing it for the future.

[Visual: Clips scroll past: a couple and a real estate agent stand behind a “For Sale” sign outside a single-family home, a person wearing a jacket puts keys into the hand of a person wearing a flannel shirt before shaking hands, a crane towering over a high-rise building under construction at sunset, 3 professionals sitting together in an office, a man writing with a stylus on a tablet held over a laptop keyboard, a time-lapse of a crane lowering a segment of a modular home into a foundation, and 2 cranes towering over twin high-rise condominium buildings under construction.]

This means helping more Canadians achieve homeownership, supporting much of Canada’s rental housing construction and adapting our financing solutions to encourage new approaches to housing construction that can improve speed, efficiency, and scale.

[Visual: Clips scroll past: a woman working on a laptop in an office, a late-middle-aged couple discussing documents at their dining table, a man working on a computer in front of file shelves, young professionals meeting while sitting on beanbag chairs and older professionals meeting around a conference table.]

We’re also expanding the depth of our research, unlocking more housing data, and using advanced modelling to generate insights that support better decisions across the housing system.

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And we’re working closely with partners across the sector to help move housing projects further and faster. At its core, this is about execution. It’s about helping get more housing built and making sure our financing tools are reaching the places where they’re needed most.

At the same time, we help maintain a stable housing finance system so lenders can continue supporting Canadians through periods of economic uncertainty. That stability has been part of CMHC’s role for 80 years, and it remains just as important today.

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00:04:27:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing, CMHC]

That means a housing system that works, backed by housing finance solutions that make it possible and the knowledge and expertise that helps everyone in it make better decisions.

[Visual: Joelle sits at the desk.]

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For 80 years, CMHC has helped Canadians access housing.

[Visual: Clips scroll past: an aerial shot of a snowy residential neighbourhood transforms from black and white to colour, condominium towers, a man and a woman wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests talking at a construction site, an aerial shot of several townhouses under construction on a large dirt lot, 3 people in hard hats talking inside a concrete building structure in silhouette, a Canadian flag waving in front of modern residential buildings, a couple discussing documents at their dining table, traffic flowing along a highway bordered by forests, and a construction crane extending in front of a cityscape.]

From post-war recovery to today’s complex market, the tools have evolved, but the purpose hasn’t changed: supporting a housing system that works for Canadians. And as housing challenges continue to grow, that role is more important than ever.

[Visual: Joelle sits at the desk.]

Here since 1946, here to support housing in Canada, now and for future generations.

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