OTTAWA: The Government of Canada, through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has launched the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), a $1 billion program to help address the urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians, especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of affordable housing.
The initiative provides capital contributions (upon signing a funding agreement with CMHC) under two streams to expedite the delivery of affordable housing.
The RHI will:
• Support the creation of up to 3,000 new permanently affordable housing units
• Cover the construction of modular housing, as well as the acquisition of land, and the conversion/rehabilitation of existing buildings to affordable housing
• Aim to commit all funds before March 31, 2021, and ensure housing is available within 12 months of agreements RHI will deliver funding under two streams, each containing $500 million in available funds.
Under the first stream, RHI will expedite funds to pre-identified municipalities with the highest level of renters in severe housing need and people experiencing homelessness. For the second stream, an application portal will be open to municipalities, provinces and territories, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations, and non-profit organizations where applications will be prioritized based on the strength of the application.
Major Cities Stream: Immediate Support for Identified Municipalities ($500 million) The identified municipalities listed below will receive a predetermined allocation based on the severity of the housing need in their respective housing market.
Each municipality will be required to submit an investment plan and demonstrate alignment with the RHI criteria as well as how they will achieve results. The RHI expects municipalities to create, within a period of 12 months, a minimum number of units with the allocated funding (relative to local market costs):
Municipality Funding
Toronto – $203.3M
Montréal – $56.8M
Vancouver – $51.5M
Ottawa – $31.9M
Region of Peel – $30.4M
Calgary – $24.6M
Edmonton – $17.3M
Surrey – $16.4M
Capital District (BC) – $13.1M
Winnipeg – $12.5M
Hamilton – $10.8M
Halifax – $8.7M
Region of Waterloo – $8.2M
London – $7.5M
Québec City – $7.1M
1.If municipalities have planned projects that exceed their allocations, projects may be considered for funding under the Projects Stream without having to submit an additional application. Municipalities need however to include the details of these projects in their initial investment plan to be considered for that additional funding. Unused funds will be reallocated to other projects.
2.Projects Stream: Application-Based process ($500 million) Provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous governing bodies, and organizations, as well as nonprofit organizations, are eligible to apply for funding under this stream. CMHC will accept applications until December 31, 2020. Applications will be reviewed by January 31, 2021. Additional application intake windows may be offered if required. In the unlikely event where CMHC does not receive enough viable applications by the end of the application window, a second application window may be considered.
CMHC will review and prioritize applications based on program criteria. CMHC will aim to distribute all funds before March 31, 2021 where possible. Exceptions may apply, for example for projects in remote locations.
Minister Hussen has also launched Ahmed Hussen, the first round of the Canada Housing Supply Challenge. The first round, Data-Driven, seeks 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.
Participants will create technology or methodology-based solutions to improve data collection, sharing, analysis, and integration, thus improving decision-making on housing supply.
This first round will disburse up to $25 million to fund a variety of new solutions. The Data round aims to create long-term partnerships between data experts, housing experts, researchers, and communities, which will enable the creation of housing supply solutions.
The Housing Supply Challenge will be delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The Data Driven round begins today and will be open for applications until January 20, 2021.
Up to 25 Stage, 1 applicant will be shortlisted and given $100,000 in funding to support the development of their final submissions. Then, $22.5 million will be shared among multiple solutions. Funding will be based on stage 2 submissions and will be tied to implementation milestones.
Future rounds of the five-year Housing Supply Challenge will tackle additional issues related to housing supply including: Northern Housing Pre-Development Processes Construction Technology Scaling Solutions Public perception of new residential development The Housing Supply Challenge is being hosted on the Impact Canada platform.
Innovators wishing to apply should visit: https://impact.canada.ca/en/challenges/housingsupply-challenge Minister Hussen said: “Every Canadian deserves a home that meets their needs and they can afford. Increasing the supply of housing requires innovative and disruptive thinking. The Housing Supply Challenge will bring forward the best new ideas with the funding to turn those ideas into realities that can address housing supply issues in Canada.”
Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, said: “As a Member of Parliament for a downtown Toronto riding, I hear first-hand about the need for reliable housing supply. All Canadians deserve this. By investing in good data, Canada will be able to make evidence-based decisions, ensuring equitable access to housing.
That’s good for University-Rosedale, and good for Canada.” According to the 2016 Census,
approximately 1.7 million Canadian households were in core housing need in 2016. Canada requires more housing supply, but there is no single solution to address this need.
To help municipalities grow their 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 enhance housing supply and provide a platform to share these models with communities across Canada.
The Challenge will also help address barriers to housing supply and affordability, showcase new ideas and solutions, and cultivate collaboration and partnerships.
The Challenge is a component of Impact Canada, a Government of Canada-wide initiative to help federal organizations accelerate the adoption of innovative funding approaches to deliver meaningful results to Canadians.
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.