Dear co-operators:

Nearly five years have passed since CHF Canada’s 50th Anniversary Annual General Meeting where members adopted a sector vision of Co-operative Housing for All. After taking stock of our opportunities and challenges, we set our sights on building a more inclusive, sustainable and growing co-operative housing movement. We imagined a future where co-operative housing is as well known as renting or owning in Canada, and where co-op housing is a place where everyone can realize a full sense of belonging and community.

Read the full letter from our President and Executive Director…

The Co-operative Housing Development Program

In April 2022, the federal government budget committed its first investment in co-op housing in over thirty years. The federal government committed $1.5 billion to co-design and launch the Co-operative Housing Development Program with CHF Canada and the co-op housing sector. Members passed a resolution at the 2022 AGM to ensure the program prioritizes co-operative values and principles, promotes sustainability, scalability and growth of co-operatives, as well as promoting equity and inclusion in our efforts to develop new co-op homes across Canada.

Throughout 2022, we worked with the federal government to co-design the new program. We gathered leaders and experts on co-op housing development through a Sector Advisory Committee, and together, we put forward our best advice. 

The first phase of the co-design process ended at the end of 2022. Since then, we have stayed in engaged to ensure the sector’s voice is heard by government decision-makers. As the 2023 Annual Meeting nears, we are hopeful and persistent in our efforts to see the launch of the Co-op Housing Development Program announced in 2023 in a manner that is consistent with the guidance of our members and the advice of the Sector Advisory Committee.

Sector Advisory Group

• Eric Cimon, Association des groups de ressources techniques du Québec (QC)

• Karen Brodeur, Compass Nova Scotia (NS)

• Sandra Turgeon, Conféderation québécoise des coopèratives d’habitation (QC)

• Thom Armstrong, Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia/Community Land Trust of BC (BC)

• Tina Stevens, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada Indigenous Communities Director (ON)

• Tom Clement, Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto (ON)

• Patrick Préville, Fédération de l’habitation coopèrative du Québec (QC)

• Charles Lagacé, Hillside Housing Co-operative (NU)

• Kit Hickey, Housing Alternatives (NB)

• Andy Broderick, New Commons Development (National)

• Ayanna Innis, Northern Alberta Co-operative Housing Association (AB)

• Ray Sullivan, Ottawa Community Land Trust (ON)

• Irene Gannitsos, Vancity Credit Union (BC)

The Co-op Difference Report

Growth and Development

As we enable co-op housing development, CHF Canada continues to encourage co-ops to come together to partner effectively to expand co-op housing, and advocate for investment in new co-op supply:

• New education offerings included workshops such as They’re multiplying! Co-op housing growth in Canada, a curated list of development resources, and a self-assessment tool for members to reflect on their co-op's needs and capacity.

• Compass Nova Scotia broke ground on a new development site and continues to explore two rural developments.

• Building capacity of our co-op housing development team by hiring a new Director, Co-operative Housing Development.  A key part of this role will be designing and implementing the new Co-operative Housing Development Program. 

• Completing pilot co-op expansion projects such as the collaboration with Kingston Co-op and Otter Creek.

• As part of our journey toward Reconciliation, exploring and enabling a new For Indigenous By Indigenous housing solution through Compass Ontario

Building new communities of co-ops through unified co-ops and community land trusts

Education and Resources

National Education Committee

• This new committee is a collaboration with regional federations and sector leaders, actively working to improve the quality and delivery of sector education.

• The committee organized a virtual workshop, Rebuilding co-op community post-pandemic, led by Sylvia Cheuy of the Tamarack Institute.

• CHF Canada worked with the committee to hold an in-person Educators conference. Supporting the professional development of facilitators will strengthen our workshops and educational services for members.

Managers

• We adapted our in-person training to provide the first virtual Intro to Co-op Management in Ontario course.

• Co-op staff regularly gathered in Sharing Circles to discuss issues affecting their co-op community and share solutions.   

• We launched a new networking platform, Co-op Staff Oasis where co-op staff can share resources and connect online.

Online learning

• We reinvested in on-demand, online learning, beginning with our Risk Management course.

Tamarack Institute

• We completed the Community Development Pilot Program; five co-ops received individual guidance from Tamarack and peer-to-peer support from one another to create plans to deepen community.

Asset and Financial Planning Services

Member co-ops continue to seek asset and financial planning solutions with CHF Canada

Insurance and Risk Management

Through our partner, Co-operators, we provided commercial insurance to over 85% of our member co-ops, as well as:

• over 16,700 MemberGuard household policies

• over 2,000 Autoguard policies

• over 600 lives insured through our Group Benefits program which includes a Health Care Spending Account. 

In 2022, our new Risk Management Program helped 145 participating members, providing them with education on the value and benefits of adopting risk management in their co-op.

Members enrolled in the Risk Management Program received a discount on insurance and helped reduce claims and improve the insurance program overall.

Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

CHF Canada assisted member co-ops in improving their environmental sustainability and energy savings with several initiatives:

CHF Canada works with regional federations and partners to provide education and advocacy services specific to communities across the country. For events and news in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec, check out our listing of regional federations.

ONTARIO

This year marked the beginning of a process that will dramatically transform business practices for Housing Services Act (HSA) housing co-ops.

In March, the province released new regulations that responded to our Fix the Formula campaign, and set a new path forward for these co-ops at the end of mortgage (EOM). In line with CHF Canada member’s resolution from 2022, CHF Canada started setting the foundations for success by

• developing an EOM partnerships agreement with Ontario regional federations,

• promoting CHF Canada’s Asset and Financial Planning Services to the province and service managers, and

• developing resources for members.

ATLANTIC REGION

In 2022, members in Nova Scotia were proud to host CHF Canada’s Annual Meeting, where members from across the country gathered to learn, network, vote as delegates and encourage conversation about our Co-op Housing for All vision.

CHF Canada members in Nova Scotia worked together to see the Co-op Act updated to permanently allow for virtual meetings, removing barriers to member engagement  and supporting democratic member control.

CHF Canada also partnered with the province of Nova Scotia to see $13 million in government funding to renew co-op homes and enable 38 at-risk co-op homes to join Compass Nova Scotia. A new Community Housing Growth Fund is being administered by the Community Housing Transformation Centre to offer resources to co-ops and non-profit housing providers to increase the supply of affordable housing options in the province.

In New Brunswick, CHF Canada worked with Housing Alternatives and other local organizations to present recommendations to the government on how to incorporate co-op housing into the provincial housing strategy through new site development and the acquisition of existing rental buildings. We also worked in partnership with Housing Alternatives to create a new co-operative to facilitate the acquisition of 180 new co-op units and the development of 4 new units in Saint John.

In all Atlantic provinces, we continue to advocate for continued rental assistance. Some provinces have offered short-term extensions as co-ops end their operating agreements; while this is welcome news, we advocate for long-term rental assistance for low-income households in co-ops.

PRAIRIE REGION

Across the Prairies, we facilitated conversations and presentations to help prepare our members to strengthen and grow the sector through the Co-operative Housing for All vision.

In Alberta, we worked with regional federations to see federal rental assistance be as effective as possible for members and to support the growth of the co-op sector.

CHF Canada members in Manitoba provided unified direction to the province through consultations on the Manitoba Appeals Tribunal.

In Saskatchewan, CHF Canada members worked with the Saskatchewan Co-op Association to submit recommendations to improve the Saskatchewan Co-operative Act.

CHF Canada continues to advocate for important rental assistance extensions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, encouraging provinces to use the tools at their disposal to ensure agreed-upon rental assistance is delivered to co-ops and non-profits.

We also celebrated two housing co-op leaders, Sandra Hardy and Linda Ferguson, who were both honoured with awards from the Manitoba Co-operative Association.

Member engagement

In 2022, CHF Canada made careful steps to return to safe, in-person member events.

Growing Membership

CHF Canada and Canada’s housing co-ops continue to improve our understanding and actions to build a more equitable sector.    

In 2022, we:

• profiled diversity, inclusion and reconciliation as a main educational theme of our 2022 Annual Meeting workshops with topics like “CHF Canada’s Reconciliation Toolkit” and “Creating Affirming spaces for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community”.

• recognized important days, including Black History Month, Asian Heritage Month, Pride Month, Indigenous History Month and shared stories celebrating the diversity of our sector (see Sharing our Stories)

• continued professional development training for staff and board members; hired consulting firm QuakeLab to conduct an organizational diversity and inclusion survey and audit with recommendations on how to improve our workplace.

• continued to support young people in our movement who champion diversity and inclusion with Diversity Scholarships (see Awards & Grants).

Reconciliation

Aging in Place

Greener Co-op Microgrants

In 2022 more co-ops were awarded Greener Co-op Microgrants than ever before! The program allocated just over $155,000 in grants to 44 housing co-ops across the country.

In 2022, Greener Co-op Microgrants funded:

• 15 community garden initiatives,

• 8 LED lighting replacements,

• 3 pollinator gardens,

• 4 bike storage projects,

• 4 toilet replacement projects,

• 3 electric charging station installations,

• 6 greening schemes and

• a programmable thermostat project at Hillside Housing Co-op, the first grant to be awarded to a co-op in Nunavut!

Thank you to the Community Housing Transformation Centre and other sector partners, including CHF BC, the Agency for Co-operative Housing, FECHIMM, and the Vancity Community Investment Bank for funding this program.

Award for Co-operative Achievement

Diversity Scholarships

Diversity Scholarships are available to members 35 and under of CHF Canada member housing co-ops in Manitoba, Southwestern Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.

In 2022, we introduced new Training Scholarships, available to board and committee members of any age.

Learn how the Diversity Scholarship is helping 2022 recipient Eduardo Almeida achieve his goals.

Elected representatives on the CHF Canada’s Board of Directors and Committees serve a vital role in our success.

In 2022 the Board re-elected the following members as its table officers:

President: Tina Stevens

Vice President: Mary Ann Hannant

Treasurer: Cassia Kantrow

At the 2022 Annual meeting, Judy Skinner was elected to the Finance and Audit Committee for a two-year term.

CHF Canada benefits from a dedicated group of staff serving members from offices across Canada.

New: Daniele Bourgeois, Deirdre Bain, Caroline Chapman, Emily Rude, Michelle Chapin. (In 2023) Jolene Cushman, Ami Patel

Departed: Keith Moyer, Lee Pepper