OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 13, 2021 / – The Government of Canada says every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. They called on Canadians to provide innovative ideas. A $300 million “Housing Supply Challenge” was created to bring the solutions. Today 29 applicants will receive funding to develop those ideas.
“Getting Started” is the second round of the Housing Supply Challenge.
Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, Ahmed Hussen, announced the 29 shortlisted applicants for Stage 2 of the second round, “Getting Started”, of the Housing Supply Challenge. Applicants will receive $75,000 each to develop their solution.
The 29 shortlisted candidates will refine and develop a plan to implement their solution, using the incubation funding, by April 2022. The final results will be announced by July 2022. Those who will pass the final evaluation stage will share a pool of up to $38 million dollars to implement their solutions.
The second round of the Housing Supply Challenge is called “Getting Started”. Pre-development activities include everything that brings a housing project from idea to the start of construction.
“The Housing Supply Challenge brings forward the best new ideas, backed by funding, to reality. Through the Getting Started round, we’re working hard to find solutions to solve the complex pre-construction barriers that are in the way of building affordable housing. This is the National Housing Strategy at at work!”
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
| Lead Applicant Organization | Solution Title | Province |
| City of Beaumont | Location Identification Framework for Non-Market Housing in Beaumont, Alberta | AB |
| Rural Development Network | Rural and Remote Communities – Housing Data for Pre-Development Progression | AB |
| Tawaw Architecture Collective Inc. | Changing Horses NFP Society Supportive Housing Complex | AB |
| The Edmonton Community Development Company (ECDC) | Co-Creating Housing Affordability with Neighbourhoods | AB |
| Co:Here Foundation | Empowering Faith-Based Organizations to Create Affordable Housing | BC |
| El-Marashly Housing Inc. | Leverage-Free Housing Finance Model | BC |
| Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre For Dialogue | Renovate the Public Hearing: Pre-Development Public Engagement Reforms to Support Housing Supply | BC |
| Small Housing BC | Gentle Density Housing (GDH) Accelerator | BC |
| Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership Society | Tools for Affordable Workforce Housing in the Southern Gulf Islands | BC |
| Urban Matters CCC | Co-Creating Housing Solutions: Early Engagement Interventions in Housing Development | BC |
| Victoria Native Friendship Centre- Raven House | Raven House- a model for urban Indigenous youth culturally-based affordable housing | BC |
| BNRC | Rent Seeker | MB |
| Manitoba Environmental Industries Association (MEIA) | Indigenous Housing Inspection Program – Barrenlands First Nation, Manitoba | MB |
| Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission | The Housing Hub: Southwest New Brunswick Housing Information Portal | NB |
| Coho NL Community Development Inc. | Creating Affordable Cohousing Through Knowledge-Sharing | NL |
| AECO Innovation Lab Inc. | Pre-development Process Streamlining and Modernization for Affordable Housing in Simcoe County | ON |
| Archangel Ventures | ESG-Funding Online Platform | ON |
| Cahdco | Creation of Non-profit Housing Development Corporations | ON |
| City of Brampton | Affordable Rental Housing in Brampton’s Private Housing Stock (lodging houses, triplex conversions) | ON |
| CP Planning | Network Roadmapping for Redevelopment Plans to Confront Systemic Racism | ON |
| Home Suite Hope Shared Living Corp. | Housing Needs and Affordability for Single-Parent-Led Families | ON |
| Kenora District Services Board | Tiny Home Communities in Northwestern and Rural Ontario | ON |
| Nishnawbe Aski Nation Corporate Services | Community Led Designs for Specialized Housing in the North | ON |
| Raising the Roof | B Homes | ON |
| Ratio.City | Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) Housing Development Calculator & Dashboard | ON |
| Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative operating as “Tapestry Community Capital” | Financing affordable housing with the power of community | ON |
| Town of Stratford | Overcoming Zoning Challenges in Land Use Planning | PEI |
| Concordia University Next-Generation Cities Institute | Realized through Value Collective | QC |
| Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE) | Solutions hub to accelerate the development of affordable student housing in Quebec | QC |
Round 1 saw $200,000 each to prototype their solution
The first round of the Housing Supply Challenge, Data Driven, sought solutions to address gaps in housing data — which are often outdated, inconsistent and not openly available — making it more difficult to manage housing supply issues. In round one participants were to create technology or methodology based solutions to improve data collection, sharing, analysis and integration.
21 solutions were shortlisted, receiving $200,000 each to prototype their solution, and 14 prototypes passed the final evaluation stage and will share a pool of $22.5 million to start implementing their solutions:
- First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, FNHSSM eHealth Housing Database, Manitoba
- Purpose Analytics, Low-end of Market Rental Housing Monitor, Ontario
- University of British Columbia, Needs Assessment and Well-Located Land: A Data-Driven Solution to Balanced Supply of Housing, British Columbia
- McMaster University, CHEC Administrative Data Centre, Ontario
- McGill University, Data Homebase: A prototype visualizing Canada’s housing characteristics to foster a circular economy, Quebec
- The Métis Nation of Ontario, Using Strategic Data to Shape Regional Allocation of Affordable Housing Investments for Métis citizens in Ontario, Ontario
- Université Laval, Mapping of population vulnerability and exposure to extreme heat waves, Quebec
- MapYourProperty Inc., Single Data Intelligence Platform for Affordable Housing Development, Ontario
- Ontario First Nations Technical Services, Ontario First Nation Housing Needs, Ontario
- Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC), Filling the Housing Information Gap in Rural Eastern Ontario, Ontario
- Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services, Digital database and software tool to support housing needs for Indigenous CFS youth transitioning, Manitoba
- OPEN Technologies, Net-zero Navigator Extension for Affordable Housing, BC
- Family Services Windsor-Essex, Maintaining Affordability through ADUs: A Tracking and Analysis Model, Ontario
- Vivre en Ville, Residential lease registry: Open data for maintaining affordable housing supply, Quebec
Quick facts about The Housing Supply Challenge
- The 14 funding recipients of the first round, Data Driven, of the Housing Supply Challenge were announced on November 30, 2021
- The Northern Access Round has a pool of up to $80M to fund and implement ideas that address these barriers.
- To help break barriers to housing supply, Budget 2019 provided $300 million in funding over five years to launch a Housing Supply Challenge to address housing supply and unlock new solutions for Canadians searching for an affordable place to call home.
- The Challenge aims to provide new resources and find solutions to housing supply barriers and provide a platform to share these models with communities across Canada.
- The Challenge should help address barriers to housing supply and affordability.
- The solutions should cultivate collaboration and partnerships.
- The Challenge is a component of Impact Canada, a Government of Canada-wide initiative to help departments accelerate the adoption of innovative funding approaches to deliver meaningful results to Canadians.
- The Housing Supply Challenge is delivered by Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) and CMHC has partnered with Evergreen on a support program to help applicants develop the most impactful solutions.
- The Challenge aligns with the National Housing Strategy and CMHC’s goal, that by 2030 everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs.
- Canada’s NHS is an ambitious, 10-year plan that will invest over $72 billion to 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.
A brief description of each project is available on our Housing Supply Challenge Round 2 – Shortlisted Applicants page.
The Northern Access Round needs your help to eliminate supply chain barriers.
The third round of the Housing Supply Challenge, Northern Access Round: Supply Chain Solutions for Northern and Remote Housing, invites residents and professionals to submit ideas and solutions to improve Canada’s housing supply chain in northern and remote regions. The application phase for this round launches on January 12, 2022.
Supply chain limitations in northern and remote regions incur some of the highest costs to build and maintain housing which include:
- high transportation costs
- increased investment risks
- long timelines
- limited access to resources and infrastructure
The Northern Access Round has a pool of up to $80M to fund and implement ideas that address these barriers.
A wide range of solutions can improve efficient and affordable access to materials and resources in northern and remote regions.
Significant investments are required to offset the costs and risks of developing solutions for northern and remote regions. Investments that are relevant to this round include:
- transportation and logistical solutions that improve access to building materials and resources
- solutions to increase accessibility to fly in, fly out communities
- solutions to improve the feasibility of climate adaptation and culturally-appropriate techniques
- capacity and training solutions that address the high cost and limited access to skilled workers
- technology solutions that enhance or expand existing infrastructure
- innovative approaches to materials handling, shipping, and storing
- alternative methods for financing land development and construction
To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca. For more information, you can follow the projects on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
