Preface: The state has legal obligations to ensure shelter for all citizens. In Ontario, the decades-long process of devolution of obligations from federal to provincial to municipal government culminated in 2000 through the Social Housing Reform Act (SHRA). The SHRA created 47 Service Managers with Social Housing portfolios within municipal administration financed largely by property taxes. Over the last 20 years, the federal government has withdrawn nearly completely from social housing.

Research Abstract

In response to the global economic crisis, Canada's first post-crisis federal budget includes new spending on social housing not seen in recent years. The spending is cost-shared with provinces to flow finally to Service Managers. In particular, the new construction of social housing for seniors could relieve some of the pressure of an aging population in Ottawa and elsewhere. In some areas, lower rents and property prices may provide opportunities for some individuals and for social housing providers. However, there is an explicit reluctance from the federal government to fund programs over the long term. There is no funding allocated to the millions of Canadian households who are precariously housed and don’t belong to the groups specified. No money has been budgeted for urban Aboriginals or for transitional supports to house the homeless. Ontario's 2009 budget includes modest improvements to the social safety net, howerver funding to Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in Ontario will be reduced again this year, down 25% over the last three years. Six months into the crisis, the Ontario unemployment rate stands at 8.7%, the highest in seven years. Canada’s social housing crisis emerged in a period of economic boom: in a time of economic crisis, will social housing deteriorate further as a result of the crisis, or will it trigger change and innovation? Are social housing stakeholders adjusting their planning in response to the crisis and budget changes? This research will consist of an econometric analysis to describe the anatomy of the crisis with regards to the future of sustainable social housing in Ontario, tracking international trends as well. It will then gauge the reactions of stakeholders through consultations with municipal social housing personnel and case studies of policy and program innovators.