Funding, News and Announcements

In 2019, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) was tasked to develop a new pan-Canadian funding initiative under the banner of the Housing Supply Challenge (HSC). With up to $300M in funding to be provided over 5 years, the Challenge asks Canadian innovators to come forward with solutions that address local barriers to the creation of new housing supply. Community experts and innovators may propose their own local context solutions, adapt existing solutions and bring them to scale, or develop solutions from scratch.

The Housing Supply Challenge has four key objectives:

1. Address Housing Supply and Affordability Barriers
2. Enhance Community Engagement
3. Foster a Demonstration Effect, Replication, and/or Scaling
4. Cultivate Partnerships & Collaboration

On October 20, 2020, CMHC will officially launch Data Driven, the first round of the Housing Supply Challenge. This round will challenge applicants to create data solutions that improve decision-making for housing supply across Canada. Up to 25 shortlisted applicants will receive $100,000 in incubation to support the development of their concepts. Finalists will share $22.5M in implementation funding to bring their concepts to life.  

Housing data is often scattered, outdated, inconsistent and not openly available, which means decision-makers work with a limited picture of the housing ecosystem. The challenge is especially acute for data on the housing needs of vulnerable groups. Through the Data Driven round, CMHC hopes to find solutions that address data barriers that include but are not limited to data availability, relevancy, and timeliness. 

For more about the Challenge and the Data Driven round, please visit CMHC online. To contact or receive updates on the HSC, you can sign up here or email challenge@cmhc.ca.