Across the country, too many Canadians are unable to access affordable and adequate housing. To address this, the federal government is funding the creation and maintenance of housing supply through the $82 billion National Housing Strategy (NHS), launched in 2017 and led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Governments, housing providers, developers, and other organizations can apply for financial support through several NHS streams.

Over the course of two meetings, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (the committee) heard from CMHC officials about the administration of federal housing funding programs under the NHS. The committee also considered evidence provided to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts as a part of that committee’s study on Report 5, Chronic Homelessness, of the 2022 Reports 5 to 8 of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada (November 2022), as well as the February 2023 report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled Federal Program Spending on Housing in 2022.

The committee heard that CMHC has worked to adjust programming to address changing requirements, while making continuous service improvements to meet client needs and increase efficiency. However, based on the testimony received, the committee sees the need for further action to ensure that funding is making the intended impact. In this report, the committee makes recommendations to CMHC and the Government of Canada on allocating and disbursing funding effectively; improving client experience; defining “affordability” for the purposes of the NHS and its targets; clarifying accountability for the achievement of these targets; and measuring progress.