The rights-based approach outlined in the NHSA mandates that federal investments in housing programs and policies must use a “maximum of available resources” and “all appropriate means” (including legislative and other measures) to ensure adequate housing for all.
Background
Recognizing the right to adequate housing for the first time in federal legislation in 2019—the National Housing Strategy Act (NHSA)—was a recognition that the housing crisis facing Canada is indeed a human rights crisis that must be addressed as such.
Since the NHSA was adopted, there have been some changes make to the federal government’s National Housing Strategy, but there has been no concerted effort made to ensure that it conforms with the requirements of the NHSA.
Recently in 2024, the federal government announced a new Housing Plan with the goal of making housing more attainable and affordable for Canadians. It is not clear how the new Housing Plan relates to the existing National Housing Strategy and there is currently no reference in the Plan to the requirements of the NHSA or the commitment to the right to adequate housing.
The many gaps of the National Housing Strategy, along with the lack of alignment with Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act, have been explored time and time again by numerous experts, organizations, and authorities. All of whom have demonstrated that the federal government’s current housing programs will not adequately meet its targets of halving the net number of tenant households in need or eliminating chronic homelessness—let alone meet more bold targets of ending homelessness by 2030 in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our 2025 Pre-Budget Submission:
The commitment in the federal government’s new Housing Plan to attainable and affordable housing does, however, align with broader commitments under the NHSA and provides an opportunity to establish an over-arching rights-based approach to housing, based on the NHSA.
In our 2025 pre-budget submission—Embedding the Human Right to Housing: A Blueprint for Canada’s Budget—we provide recommendations under four major categories on how the federal government can strengthen and advance the right to adequate housing for all:
- Canada’s Commitment to reduce and eliminate homelessness with clear goals and timelines;
- Non-Market Housing Investments in alignment with OECD Countries;
- Security of Tenure, Renters’ Bill of Rights, and Tenant Protection Fund;
- Adequacy of Income Support Programs and Housing.