Models from Denmark and France show the potential of sustainable funding and non-market housing
Housing experts are advocating for Canada to explore and adopt European-style housing policies to address its growing affordability issues.
While recent policies and funding efforts aim to boost housing supply, advocates argue that Canada needs a more integrated approach to make meaningful progress, similar to what has worked in places like Denmark, France, and Austria.
Carolyn Whitzman, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities and author of Home Truths: Fixing Canada’s Housing Crisis, said that European countries have managed to create sustainable, affordable housing models through government-supported initiatives.
“There’s plenty of really exciting examples for Canada to learn from,” Whitzman said.
Vienna stands as a prime example, where about 25% of residents live in social housing. While Vienna's model has roots in unique historical circumstances, other European nations have developed scalable solutions that are relevant today.
France, for example, has committed to ensuring 20% of its housing stock is “non-market” by purchasing buildings and constructing new homes, reaching around 17% so far. This approach helps maintain neighbourhood diversity and ensures affordable options are available.
Whitzman noted that Canada once had similar ambitions. In the 1970s, non-market building targets were set but were abandoned in the 1990s when federal support for housing construction was withdrawn.
Meanwhile, European nations, like France and Denmark, have maintained long-term commitments, with Denmark’s strategy yielding 21% non-market housing as of 2022. The Netherlands surpasses even this, standing at 34%, while Canada lags with just 3.5% non-market housing, according to OECD data.
Whitzman highlighted the importance of policies that consider decades-long funding cycles.
“That sort of revolving fund is like a gold standard because it means that the policy is sustainable. It does need to be thought of in 30-year timelines,” she told The Canadian Press.
Sustained investment is a cornerstone of successful affordable housing strategies. For example, Finland’s ‘housing-first’ model, which prioritizes providing housing to those in need before addressing other issues, has been effective in reducing homelessness. The non-profit Y-Foundation has emerged as the fourth-largest landlord in Finland by leveraging this model.
In Canada, federal programs such as the $55-billion apartment construction loan program and a $14-billion affordable housing fund are in place, alongside a $4-billion rapid housing initiative aimed at helping those with severe housing needs.
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Despite these efforts, Whitzman said the impact remains limited due to unclear definitions of affordability and a focus that doesn’t fully address low-income households.
“There is an argument that, eventually, if there’s enough supply, it’ll trickle down to low-income people,” Whitzman said. “But that would take 30 or 40 years, and we’ve got a housing crisis now.”
Whitzman also emphasized the need for larger-scale non-market housing developers who can secure significant funding.
“You do need to be able to go to the bank if you’re a non-market provider and say, ‘Hi, I’d like $80 million’,” she explained, pointing out that few Canadian non-market developers currently have that capacity.
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