@bshnode.bsky.social
CMHC-SSHRC funded group of academic and community-based housing researchers with a focus on housing affordability in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, Canada 🍁 🔗 bsh.ubc.ca
The NHS promises safe, adequate housing for all, but for people with disabilities, that promise remains largely unmet. Our latest webinar dives into the structural barriers standing between people with disabilities & the housing they deserve.
Watch the recording:
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6/6 CMHC's index is a real advancement in affordability measurement. The next step: explicitly incorporate investor ownership structures & how they shape rental outcomes. With better measurement comes better policy.
Find more research at on housing affordability in Canada at bsh.ubc.ca
5/6 The rental analysis also falls short. It credits future relief to unsold condos entering the rental market, but CMHC's own data shows historically low vacancy rates across key cities. And financialized landlords, above-guideline rent increases & eviction-driven turnover? Not mentioned once.
25.02.2026 23:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
4/6 The problem: the index assumes homebuyers=homeowners. In TO & Van, that's increasingly not true. When investor demand is ignored, affordability metrics distort. Housing costs ~100% of median income isn't an affordability problem, it's a signal the median household is no longer the marginal buyer
25.02.2026 23:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 03/6 For renters, the data confirms persistent stress in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax & Ottawa. Rental affordability isn't a cyclical blip; it's becoming a structural feature of these markets.
25.02.2026 23:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 02/6 What they got right: the index finally separates renters from owners (long overdue) and confirms what many already know: affordability decline isn't just a Toronto/Vancouver story anymore. Halifax, Montreal & Ottawa are now showing equally concerning trends.
25.02.2026 23:02 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
1/6 CMHC announced a new Housing Affordability Composite Index today—a meaningful step forward in how we measure housing stress. But the analysis has some notable gaps worth unpacking.
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Our next Research in Progress webinar is tomorrow!
Join BSH experts Drs. McKay, Phillips & @jeremywildeman.bsky.social to learn about the challenges of navigating accessible housing & how policy changes could make a real impact for people living w/ disabilities.
Sign up at buff.ly/ZP4aUxe
4/4 BC has been a national leader on housing policy for years, but this budget leaves the sector asking, 'what happened?'
Read our full take on what the budget got right, where it stumbled, and where there's room for improvement: buff.ly/Uw04leG
3/4 🏠 What does the suspension of CHF mean for non-profit & Indigenous hsg providers that were counting on it?
🔑 85% of BC evictions are no-fault, yet the budget introduces no new renter protections. Affordable supply is shrinking, so why isn't the province taking a stronger stance?
2/4 Our latest analysis asks:
📉 Does "5 times the 2016 investment" hold up against inflation & 20% population over that time? (Spoiler: It doesn't)
❓️ Why does the budget say nothing about CLTs, co-op housing, or the non-market models proven to deliver affordability in perpetuity?
1/4 This week, BC's 2026 Budget took a noticeable step away from affordable housing while quietly suspending the CHF without a word in the budget. While there is some good news, the budget categorically fails to treat housing as the foundational infrastructure provincial stability depends on.
20.02.2026 18:11 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Our right to accessible housing webinar is next week!
Join Drs. @jeremywildeman.bsky.social, Alina McKay & Colin Phillips as they share preliminary findings from recent BSH & @housingrightsca.bsky.social research on how systemic barriers limit housing accessibility in Canada.
🧑💻 bit.ly/AccessibleHsg
The reality is that there are over 5,200 unhoused people in MetroVan. Given the proper supports, “people are often not even aware that it is a supportive housing community because people are just living their lives.” We hope today's BC budget upholds the right to housing for all.
17.02.2026 22:28 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
“People are afraid of what they perceive these people to be bringing into their communities, and research has proven that isn’t necessarily the case.” BSH's Dr. Penny Gurstein commented on the need for supportive housing in the face of growing backlash.
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Just 2 weeks away!
Our next Research in Progress webinar with Drs. Alina McKay, Colin Phillips & @jeremywildeman.bsky.social will explore how the NHS & current housing system fail to deliver #accessible housing options to Canadians living with disabilities.
Register at: bit.ly/AccessibleHsg
BSH is working with Kamloops CLT to provide legal analysis on how capital gains tax exemptions could unlock land donations for affordable housing. By analyzing the Housing-Gift Program, we can see how tax policy could dramatically reduce land costs and grow the CLT movement.
10.02.2026 21:18 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New case study by BSH researchers Dr. Nemoy Lewis & Dimitri Panou reveals how one financialized landlord in Toronto used eviction as an extraction mechanism extending beyond formal proceedings & disproportionately affecting Black newcomers.
🧑💻Click for key takeaways & link to article:
Canada guarantees the right to housing, yet for Canadians living with disabilities, accessible housing often doesn't work.
Join Drs. McKay, Phillips & @jeremywildeman.bsky.social as they explore how our housing system fails to deliver & what needs to change.
Register ➡️ bit.ly/AccessibleHsg
Dr. Kuni Kamizaki's new Metcalf report captures the inside story—written by someone who helped launch the movement. It's part history, part how-to guide, and all community power.
Read the full story➡️ buff.ly/ri2aAed
For more on BSH's CLT research, visit: buff.ly/13us60Y
How do communities take control of their housing future? Toronto's Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust shows the way.
From grassroots organizing to acquiring residential buildings and shaping city policy, PNLT demonstrates how CLTs can combat displacement and build lasting affordability.
Montreal just replaced its bold 2021 inclusionary zoning bylaw with a simpler approach—but what can we learn from the original stakeholder consultations? New research by Drs. Luka, Ghaffari, & Shearmur reveals tensions around affordability definitions, thresholds & implementation.
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Catch our next Research in Progress webinar on February 25 at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET on The Right to Accessible Housing with Drs. Alina McKay, Colin Phillips & @jeremywildeman.bsky.social.
🧑💻 Register at: bit.ly/AccessibleHsg
Yesterday, BSH researchers Dr. Julie Mah, Dr. Martine August & @closthilaire.bsky.social shared troubling new research findings on the use of AGIs in Ontario.
Missed it? Watch the recording:
💻 on our website: buff.ly/x5rsnNj
📹️ on our YouTube channel: buff.ly/6QLN1YS
Join us for our first Research in Progress webinar of 2026 tomorrow at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET.
Register to learn about rent control policies, the rise & proliferation of financialized landlords & how tenants are impacted by the use of above guideline increases (AGIs) in Ontario.
🧑💻 bit.ly/RisingAGIs
Vancouver upzoned the DTES (towers up to 32 storeys, only 20% social housing—down from 60%) while blocking social housing elsewhere in the city. Same day. Same council.
Our latest blog breaks down the contradictory policies and what they mean for displacement risk. Read more at:
Our next Research in Progress is just a week away.
Join us for an in depth discussion with experts Dr. Julie Mah, Dr. Martine August & @closthilaire.bsky.social on the proliferation of #AGIs, specifically among financialized landlords in Ontario.
Register at bit.ly/RisingAGIs
Dr. Nemoy Lewis spoke to the Toronto Start this week following the release of recent, BSH-supported research that found financialized landlords disproportionately apply to evict in Black neighbourhoods.
For more key takeaways, see our blog: buff.ly/BT4qQDw
“[E]viction isn’t about who’s the poorest in our city... It’s about where corporate landlords operate, how they manage, and which communities are most exposed to some of the most aggressive rent enforcement. It also shows income doesn’t protect Black renters.”
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Our next Research in Progress webinar is just two weeks away.
Register to learn more about the realities and impacts of above guideline increases, #displacement trends, and how #financialized landlords are shaping housing for renters across Canada.
➡️ Register at bit.ly/RisingAGIs
