We are pleased to share an important new report from the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF) and United Way Greater Toronto, Built for Good: Delivering the Housing Ontario Needs which lays out a costed, delivery-ready plan to address a critical part of Ontario’s housing crisis — by investing in the non-profit and co-op housing sector to build, protect and sustain the affordable housing people need.
There’s a disconnect between the housing we have and the housing we need, which is the housing most Ontarians can actually afford. We also cannot close the gap on Ontario’s 1.5 million homes target by depending on market solutions and private developers alone. Built for Good identifies the housing needed to transform the province’s housing system and create a future without core housing need. In addition to ten-year targets, the report models two- and five-year milestones and investment estimates that reflect both the scale of the challenge and the practical realities of delivery.
The analysis presented in Built for Good shows that a different way is not only possible but essential for Ontario’s prosperity. We’re already spending billions on emergency fixes — shelters, ER visits and crisis response — that only deal with the symptoms not the source of the problem. Re-directing public spending towards long-term stability can resolve the housing crisis and create positive knock-on effects for residents across the province. It’s time to scale up non-profit and co-op housing — providers whose mission is affordability and whose track record shows what’s possible with the right investment and partnerships.
We all do better when people are housed. By investing in affordable housing, our economy could be more productive, every day Ontarians could realize more opportunities, our children could be doing better in school and at home and hundreds of thousands of households could live healthier lives. Ontario has a responsibility to build a housing system that works for everyone — a system that ensures people today and future generations can count on safe, stable and affordable housing.
United Way Oxford is committed to being part of the solution and investing in supports and resources to ensure all Oxford County residents have access to safe, affordable and appropriate housing.