Logo - CHF Canada

British Columbia becomes the second province to sign on to the National Housing Strategy

Published June 27, 2018

In Vancouver this Tuesday, the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia announced the terms of their bilateral agreement to roll-out the National Housing Strategy.

The 10-year agreement is worth $1.7 billion and aims to preserve and expand the supply of affordable units.

More than $990 million of the agreement will go towards the protection, renewal, and expansion of social and community housing (which includes co-op housing), as well as supporting the provincial government’s Homes for BC housing affordability plan.

Previously, the Government of Canada pledged to invest $705 million in housing in British Columbia through the Social Housing Agreement.

The combined investments will preserve at least 34,491 community housing units – including those in housing co-ops – and expand the overall stock by 15%.

This commitment follows the Government of Canada’s implementation of Phase I of the Federal Community Housing Initiative (FCHI) which continued assistance to low-income households living in co-ops with federally-administered agreements through to 2028, an advocacy win by the co-op housing sector.

“The need for more affordable housing reaches from coast to coast, but that is especially dire in British Columbia,” noted CHF Canada President Frank Wheeler. “Today’s agreement will get money flowing to preserve what we already have and to build new affordable homes in BC.”

CHF Canada is continuing to work with the provincial and territorial governments across the country to sign on to the National Housing Strategy, and to ensure that support is subsequently delivered to housing co-ops in those jurisdictions.

For more information, please contact CHF Canada’s Policy and Government Relations Program Manager, Douglas Wong at dwong@chfcanada.coop.


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