Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe that we are now one year into the COVID-19 pandemic that has so drastically upended our way of life. 

Many housing co-ops, and the organizations that serve them, have shown strength and resolve through this emergency. We recognize this has not been easy, nor universal to all housing co-ops. CHF Canada is here for you, and it is together that we survive and thrive. The resilience of the co-operative business model has been proven many times, and we are prepared to do so again…  

Read the full letter from our President and Executive Director…

As part of a commitment toward the National Housing Strategy, Housing Nova Scotia introduced their Community Housing Capacity Building Program. The program provides funding for housing co-ops for building condition inspections, asset management plans, operational reviews, energy efficiency reports, aging in place reviews, and/or strategic planning sessions. We worked with co-ops in Nova Scotia to support applications. As a result, over 30 co-ops took part in the program and we have completed 20 operational reviews to date along with 8 building condition assessments. We successfully assisted 30 more co-ops to apply for funding under various 2021 programs. 

Karen Brodeur was appointed to Nova Scotia’s new Affordable Housing Commission. The commission is made up of experts in the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors and will make recommendations about affordable housing strategies and actions to the province.

We sent election postcards to every co-op household in New Brunswick to get them engaged in the provincial election, and published an Op-Ed in the Telegraph Journal. Our members in New Brunswick also received a new resource on co-operative living! This is a great way to share the benefits and culture of housing co-ops and working together as a sector.

We continue to pursue development projects and grow the co-op housing sector by partnering with Compass Nova Scotia. 

We updated our Atlantic Region webpages including a section on the history of co-op housing, as requested by members at our Atlantic Summit.

CHF Canada continued to actively support and advocate for Ontario members. We:

• produced Ontario resources, such as updated tip sheets for working with your service manager, and a resource for families applying to affordable housing wait lists

• made a submission on the province’s poverty reduction plan

• successfully held our first virtual Co-op Housing Day at Queen’s Park, with co-op leaders from across the province meeting with Members of Provincial Parliament

• called on the province to build affordable housing to kick start an economic recovery

• welcomed the changes for community housing under Bill 184, Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing, which opened the door for a new system after End of Mortgage (EOM). We worked with stakeholders from across the sector to try and build support for a new system to protect HSA co-ops as they come to EOM and give them more ability to plan their own future

At the Ontario Business Meeting in June 2020, delegates voted overwhelmingly to consolidate CHF Canada governance, supporting the unity and effectiveness of an evolving organization.

In 2020, we said our fond goodbyes to Deputy Executive Director Harvey Cooper who retired in August.

Over the 40-plus years he has worked in co-op housing, his influence has been woven into the fabric of our historic achievements. Harvey mentored and encouraged countless sector staff and elected leaders. He built relationships with politicians and our allies in the affordable housing and co-operative sectors. We wish him the best of everything in his retirement.

In Alberta, working with the Northern Alberta Cooperative Housing Association (NACHA) and the Southern Alberta Co-operative Housing Association (SACHA), we advocated for and succeeded in getting rental assistance for co-ops that didn’t qualify for FCHI-2. 

For the Saskatchewan election, we created a campaign, including a website, to push for continued rental assistance and to highlight the benefits of the co-op model. 

We are keeping abreast of and maintaining our ties with the housing sector as Manitoba Housing redefines the role of community housing. We remain a strong voice in advocating for the value of co-operative housing in future solutions for community housing in Manitoba.

In September 2020, CHF Canada members celebrated a major advocacy win when federally-administered housing co-ops enrolled for renewed rental assistance to 2028 under the Federal Community Housing Initiative Phase 2 (FCHI-2).

This marked the successful culmination of our long and hard-fought “You Hold the Key” campaign to continue rental assistance for low-income households in federally administered co-ops. (One final piece – enrolling co-ops whose operating agreements expired prior to April 1, 2016 – was accomplished six months later, first with Temporary Rental Assistance and then with an additional $118 million of funding in Budget 2021.)   

Recognition of our sector in the Throne Speech of September 2020 was another significant accomplishment, as the government committed further partnership with co-ops and non-profits in the mid- to long-term. It was very positive to see this reaffirmed in federal Minister Ahmed Hussen's mandate letter.

Meanwhile, our work with other housing organizations across Canada culminated in the establishment of an independent sector-led, CMHC funded Community Housing Transformation Centre. The Centre, with CHF Canada Executive Director serving as chair, had its first full year of operations in 2020and has started funding several exciting initiatives to the benefit of co-op and non-profit housing nationwide.

Near the end of the year, CHF Canada President Tina Stevens was invited to appear before the House of Commons Human Resources Committee for their study of urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing. Our two key recommendations were to: 

(1) develop a long-term solution for Indigenous housing co-ops through long-term rental assistance for low-income households, and 

(2) implement the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

And in December 2020, CHF Canada Executive Director Tim Ross was appointed by Minister Hussen to the new National Housing Council, another signal of our strong voice and constructive relationships with government.

Looking forward, CHF Canada’s advocacy priorities will emphasize the need for significant, dedicated government investment to support the construction and acquisition of new co-op homes, especially for Indigenous households as part of a dedicated urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy. 

With meaningful commitments by governments, construction sites can just as likely build co-ops as condos. While growing the co-op housing movement will require bold action, there may be no better moment or method to inject affordability and security into our terribly sick housing market that is leaving far too many people behind. 

In 2020, in order to accomplish our shared vision of “Co-op housing for all”, we created a long-term strategy for growth and development of more co-operative housing, centered around three streams: co-op-led, sector-led development and advocacy to government.

Our strategy included a key focus of helping member co-ops grow by providing education and referrals. We assisted co-ops across Canada with enquiries about development, and we were pleased to see the achievements of two co-ops we advised. Clairvue Co-op opened eight new homes in the spring of 2020, and Kingston Co-op secured funding in the fall to build 38 new co-op homes.

We also forged partnerships in the sector to enable sector-led development. 

For example, we:

• partnered with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto to obtain funding from the Community Housing Transformation Centre to support the growth of Co-op Housing Land Trusts. 

• co-founded Community Affordable Housing Solutions to actively pursue new projects in Toronto;

• supported the creation of the Ottawa Community Land Trust, and

• supported Compass Nova Scotia development projects, including Maitland Street in Halifax, Barton School in Digby and Heritage Hall in Shelbourne.  

Clairvue’s new homes were constructed on existing co-op land to add one-bedroom homes.

During COVID-19, CHF Canada worked hard and creatively to continue to support and engage with members, and to show how each other and the world that Canada’s housing co-ops remain resilient and united.  

In addition to the new COVID-19 section of our website, we also stayed extra engaged with members through special COVID-19 e-bulletins and dozens of posts on social media to keep you informed, connected and inspired.

Virtual Annual Meeting

After the pandemic forced a lockdown in March, we had to cancel the annual meeting planned for Halifax. We rapidly organized a Virtual AGM to stay connected and conduct important federation business including elections and changes to CHF Canada’s governance structure.

Welcoming new members

We were delighted to welcome 31 new or returning CHF Canada members in 2020. On behalf of the over 900 members of CHF Canada, welcome to membership!

Loyalty Awards

With gratitude, we recognized co-ops that have been CHF Canada members for 20, 30, or even 40 years! Read more about, and see pictures of, our 2020 Loyalty Award recipients.

Member survey

We know 2020 was a tough year. That’s why we checked in with you through a member survey to see how CHF Canada could help our members weather COVID-19. We were glad to hear that co-ops were challenged by COVID but doing well. 

Want to keep up to date on the latest CHF Canada news, events, and programs? Sign up for our email newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube.

We’re always glad to hear from our members. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact a CHF Canada staff member.

Inspired by the famous Humans of New York project, our Humans of Co-op Housing series launched in 2020 features people who are making their co-ops a better place or speaking up for the importance of co-op housing.

Our Greener Co-op Microgrants are not only helping make co-ops more environmentally sustainable, but also helping build community. 

By working together on these projects, co-op members have developed stronger community ties, built pride in their homes, and provided opportunities for a wide range of members to get involved.

Rainbow Housing Co-operative in Saskatoon, SK received our 2020 Award for Co-operative Achievement for their work advocating for rental assistance to continue. 

The campaign began when members became concerned that they or some of their neighbours might have to leave their tight-knit co-op community if they no longer had access to rental assistance.

Breanne Guitard, a member of Dereham Forge Housing Co-op and a student in the Bachelor of Aviation Technology Program at Seneca College, is one of our 2020 Diversity Scholarship recipients. 

“By awarding me this scholarship, CHF Canada has allowed me to focus on the number one aspects of school; learning, understanding and retaining.”

Learn how our Diversity Scholarships are helping young co-op members achieve their goals.

Lindsey Reed (right), one of our five 2020 Management Scholarship recipients, is working towards her Certificate of Property Management at the Institute of Housing Management.

“The CHF Canada Management scholarship gives me an excellent opportunity to improve my proficiency in the co-operative housing sector and extend my knowledge in the affordable housing sector. Thank you for your generous support!”

Learn more about our Management Scholarships and our 2020 scholarship recipients.