Canadian Housing and Renewal Association

Canadian Housing and Renewal Association
Name	Canadian Housing and Renewal Association
Abbreviation	CHRA
Formation	1967
Type	Non-profit
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Region served	Canada

Canadian Housing and Renewal Association

The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association is a national non-profit organization that connects housing providers, community developers, and policy advocates across Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and other urban and rural regions. Founded amid policy debates involving the Liberal Party of Canada, the Social Credit Party of Canada and municipal coalitions, the association convenes stakeholders from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, provincial ministries such as Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and agencies engaged with initiatives like National Housing Strategy (Canada) and Affordable Housing Innovations. It operates alongside organizations including Habitat for Humanity Canada, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and service networks such as Shelter Movers and regional housing authorities.

History

The association emerged in the late 1960s during policy shifts connected to legislation like the National Housing Act and debates involving figures associated with the Trudeau Cabinet (1968–1979) and urban renewal programs linked to the National Housing Act, 1964. Early collaborators included community groups from Regina, Winnipeg, Halifax and activists tied to the Canadian Tenant Association and advocacy networks influenced by the United Way Centraide Canada. Through the 1970s and 1980s it intersected with federal programs administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and provincial housing agencies in British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta, while responding to policy shifts from the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and commissions such as the Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada. In subsequent decades the association partnered with national bodies including the Assembly of First Nations and engaged with reports by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Fraser Institute on housing affordability and homelessness.

Mission and Objectives

The association’s mission aligns with aims promoted by networks like United Nations Human Settlements Programme, World Habitat Day observatories and advocacy frameworks used by Community Land Trusts and co-operative housing movements originating in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. Objectives reference commitments similar to those in the National Housing Strategy (Canada), prioritizing affordable rental stock expansion, homelessness prevention modeled after programs in Scotland and tenant protection measures akin to reforms in Ontario. It seeks to influence policy debates alongside think tanks such as the C.D. Howe Institute and Institute for Research on Public Policy while supporting practitioners drawn from housing co-operatives, municipal housing corporations and organizations like Toronto Community Housing Corporation.

Programs and Services

The association administers professional development offerings comparable to those from the Canadian Institute of Planners and Municipal World, certificate programs used by staff in agencies such as BC Housing and technical assistance modeled on projects from Habitat for Humanity Canada. Services include research collaboratives with universities like the University of Toronto, McGill University and University of British Columbia, data sharing compatible with datasets from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and capacity-building workshops inspired by initiatives from the Calgary Homeless Foundation and Edmonton Joint Planning Committee. It also maintains training modules for tenant organizers similar to curricula from the Canadian Labour Congress and offers legal clinics patterned after services by the Community Legal Assistance Society.

Advocacy and Policy Impact

The association has submitted briefs to federal bodies such as the House of Commons of Canada committees and engaged in coalitions alongside the Coalition of Homelessness Prevention Organizations and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. It has influenced policy dialogues around funding models resembling those in the Social Housing Agreement (1999) and regulatory reforms debated in provincial legislatures including the Quebec National Assembly and Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Its advocacy aligns with campaigns led by organizations like Massey Centre for Policy Research and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, and it has contributed to public inquiries and task forces convened by municipal councils in Halifax Regional Municipality and City of Vancouver.

Membership and Governance

Members include non-profit housing providers, municipal housing authorities, co-operative housing boards, social enterprises and consultants with profiles similar to entities such as Calgary Housing Company, Waterloo Region Housing and Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership. Governance structures follow non-profit models consistent with the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and best practices promoted by bodies like Imagine Canada and the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Sector. Boards have featured leaders with backgrounds in municipal politics, academia from institutions such as Queen's University and executives from organizations similar to CHMC partners and regional development corporations.

Partnerships and Funding

Funding and partnerships draw on federal programs including transfers related to the National Housing Strategy (Canada), collaborations with provincial agencies such as Alberta Housing and support from philanthropic foundations like the Vancouver Foundation and Ontario Trillium Foundation. The association works with research partners including the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, advocacy networks like Federation of Canadian Municipalities and international agencies such as United Nations Human Settlements Programme to leverage capital projects, pilot programs reminiscent of those by Big City Mayors' Caucus and cross-sector funding pools similar to initiatives by the Laidlaw Foundation.

Conferences and Publications

The association convenes national conferences that attract delegates from municipal councils, academic institutions such as Ryerson University and external partners including Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Habitat for Humanity Canada. Proceedings and publications include policy papers, toolkits and reports comparable to outputs from the Canadian Policy Research Networks and journals affiliated with the Canadian Housing Studies community, and it disseminates newsletters and briefing notes used by practitioners across networks such as the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and provincial housing coalitions.

Category:Housing in Canada Category:Non-profit organizations based in Ottawa