Week in Review: November 14, 2025

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

From ECOHH’s social media

• Legislation to ensure that non-market housing remains available for those unable to pay market rent is important. This is what has happened recently in Manitoba:

  • New Legislation: Bill 12 - The Housing and Renewal Corporation Amendment Act

  • Lions Place, a 287-unit affordable non-profit seniors housing building in Winnipeg was sold to a private, for-profit company in early 2023, prompting The Manitoba Right to Housing Coalition to call for legislation to prevent the sale of non-profit owned housing.

  • Bill 12 passed on November 6, 2025, and will soon become law. Under this law, a subset of non-market, social and affordable housing providers will require permission from Manitoba Housing before their housing units can be demolished, sold or subject to a change of purpose.

  • While Bill 12 is intended to protect non-market social and affordable housing, it does not protect the majority of units. For example, Bill 12 does not protect government-owned housing, housing that receives operating funding only (e.g. for rent supplements), and buildings that received provincial funding for construction and financing that amounts to less than 15% of the total construction costs. Additionally, buildings with funding agreements that expired prior to the new legislation would not be protected. Therefore, if Lion’s Place hadn’t been sold yet, Bill 12 would not protect it since its funding agreement expired in 2018. As a result of all these exceptions, only 5,000 social and affordable housing units are protected by the new legislation. That’s roughly 20% of all units.

• New Salvation Army housing in Alberta Avenue

• Tuberculosis outbreak declared in Edmonton's inner-city

• Irish program to provide emergency shelter in a dignified and flexible way

• Budget 2025: Home building across the country

• Alberta government news release re support during winter for people who are homeless

• Everyone welcome–let the provincial government know it must fund non-market housing

• This is of course from a fake news source, but it offers a good reminder of the daily reality for many people who are homeless-- and who cannot, finally, just go to their own place to take care of their needs.

• Edmonton's plan for winter supports for people without housing

• New Housing Slows Rent Growth Most for Older, More Affordable Units

Relevant housing news 

• Affordable Housing Symposium: November 19

• Opinion: Edmonton doesn't have to be the frostbite capital of the world

• Tuberculosis outbreak declared among Edmonton’s homeless population

• The corporate blueprint behind the eviction of Ottawa’s most diverse neighbourhood

• Halifax rally calls for affordable housing measures in Nova Scotia

• Kitchener mom 'terrified' she will lose her son if she can't pay for a barrier-free apartment

• Supportive housing on Granville Street to close ahead of World Cup

• Budget’s housing promises not enough to solve affordability, supply issues: advocates

• An affordable housing unicorn: how the co-op is making a comeback

• Tent encampment near downtown Sudbury growing as winter settles in

• Already at capacity, Montreal shelters say winter resources won’t be enough

• Winnipeg wants encampments to move. Will it work?

• Residents willing to pay to address Saskatoon's homelessness crisis, survey suggests

• Saskatoon councillor pans special fee for response to homelessness

• New affordable housing documentary explores housing across the country

• Indigenous advocates eager to see $2.8B in housing money promised in budget

• How a Windsor project could help end veteran homelessness across Canada

• Windsorites need to earn $21.50 per hour to cover the cost of living, advocacy group says

• Could a rise in Indigenous-led developments move the needle on Canada's housing shortage?

• Multi-year funding 'transformative' for N.W.T. organizations focused on homelessness

• What's behind the rise in Moncton's homeless population?

• What Carney's 'Buy Canadian' policy could mean for housing, defence

• Toronto will add over 1,200 shelter spaces for winter months

• Salvation Army opens new transitional housing program in north Edmonton

• Disabled and homeless, Sudbury senior struggles to survive in a broken tent

• Housing recommendations ‘extremely important,’ advocates say

• How standardized designs could speed up homebuilding in the NWT

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