Week in Review: March 27, 2026

Here’s a roundup of housing news and issues that we noticed this week:

From ECOHH’s social media

• Edmonton doing better than most of Canada in new mid-range cost housing in new report

• The National Housing Council is inviting written submissions on the right to accessible housing. Information here

• The Canadian Public Health Association is raising serious concern over Alberta’s decision to close supervised consumption services in Calgary and Lethbridge.

• Homelessness is not only an issue in the City of Edmonton. In Strathcona County files involving people dealing with it have nearly tripled in the past two years.

• Métis Capital Housing mortgage assistance

• New “Urban Stress Index” data suggests rent alone can take more than half of median income in cities like Vancouver, with food costs adding even more pressure. 

• The Social Housing and Human Rights Coalition (ECOHH is a member) has a message:

  • Our review of the Build Canada Homes (BCH) policy framework shows that BCH will not create the scale of deeply affordable non-market (social) housing that Canada needs. We also know that the National Housing Strategy (NHS) will expire in 2027. The Parliamentary Budget Office says that this would result in a 56% drop in federal housing spending.

  • The NHS has failed to expand social housing supply for low-income renters. Housing precarity and homelessness continues to persist across the country–but there is an opportunity to ensure the next NHS produces more social housing.

  • We need to apply public pressure to ensure the next NHS includes a strong commitment to social housing. SHHR is committed to raising awareness about the essential need for more social housing. We are also dedicated to supporting individuals and local grassroots organizations to mobilize and call on elected officials to make social housing a priority.

  • Join us at our upcoming webinar to learn how you turn our call to action below into real change:

  • We are calling on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Housing to fulfil their legal obligation to realize the human right to housing and:

    • Create a minimum of 50,000 net new rent-geared-to-income social housing units each year for 10 years, starting now. These units should be targeted for those experiencing core housing need and homelessness and have rents permanently set at no more than 30% of household income.

    • Invest in the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of new and existing public, non-profit, and cooperative-owned housing that meets the unique and varied requirements of people experiencing core housing need and homelessness.

  • Webinar: Mobilizing for National Housing Strategy 2.0. Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

  • During this one hour session, members of SHHR will:

    • Share our analysis of Build Canada Homes

    • Explain our calls to action and why we continue to make this our focus

    • Discuss actions you can take and various tools and tactics you can use to ensure a strong NHS 2.0

    • Hear from you how SHHR can help you mobilize in your communities

• City of Edmonton considering further action on derelict properties

• Tanille Johnston, one of the candidates in the current federal NDP leadership contest, has released a policy paper on housing

Relevant housing news 

• Five new Downtown Edmonton developments to offer 500 student housing units

• Province plans to close Edmonton's two remaining consumption sites, but 'not in the immediate future'

• Opinion: Flawed study on Red Deer OD prevention site closure could put lives at risk

• Affordable housing injected $2.6 billion into Edmonton economy since 2019: city

• A pet‑friendly homeless shelter pilot reduced the rate of homelessness among the people it helped in California

• ‘Landmark’ Quebec ruling states no-pet clause violates Charter rights

• 'I can't afford housing anymore': Sask. disability support program under fire

• Housing Experts Disappointed with New Social Housing Targets in Provincial Budget

• Preventable cold-related deaths take toll on Ontario's homeless population, hospital staff

• As Vancouver prepares for FIFA, questions raised about unhoused people

• New Manitoba budget 'moving in the wrong direction' on social, affordable housing, advocate says

• New report suggests Canada’s housing problem isn’t just about labour or costs

• Many older homeowners in Alberta 'not feeling financially secure,' survey suggests

• City affordable housing proposal waives requirement for affordable housing

• Developers could be required to include affordable housing in new builds in the future

• Report calls for action on Moncton homelessness

• New permanent Hub homeless shelter proposed in Nanaimo, as current one faces imminent closure

• La Ronge debates spending $11,400 on a free campground for homeless people

• A new strategy is helping these homeless shelters cut down long-term stays

• More than half of Canadians say their current home is not ideal: report 

As always, we recommend checking out these sources for additional information on housing and homelessness

• Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) 

• Canadian Centre for Housing Rights

• Canadian Housing & Renewal Association (CHRA) 

• Federal Housing Advocate

• Homeless Hub (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness) 

• Homeward Trust 

• Housing Complex  

• Make the Shift   

• National Right to Housing Network (NRHN)  

• Social Housing & Human Rights (SHHR) 

• Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network