Canada’s housing crisis is worsening, with housing need and homelessness numbers rising despite government aspirations to reduce them. In this episode of Policy Crimes, Tristan Markle speaks with Dr. Carolyn Whitzman, Senior Researcher and Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, about two major reports on addressing housing need, which she released in tandem last week.

The first, for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate, sets out human-rights-based housing targets tied to what low-income households can actually afford. The second, for the Maytree Foundation, outlines a Build Canada Homes proposal to finance and deliver housing at scale. Together, they make the case for building 500,000 homes a year, including 200,000 non-market units, half for very-low-income households most at risk of homelessness.

Whitzman proposes treating housing as infrastructure, with about 2% of GDP ($40B annually) invested to create lasting public assets that address housing need. Drawing lessons from Finland, France, Austria, and Singapore, she discusses how Canada could end homelessness in a generation.

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Guest: Dr. Carolyn Whitzman is a leading Canadian housing and social policy researcher, and Senior Housing Researcher and Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. She has shaped federal housing policy through work with the federal Expert Panel on the Homebuilding Industry and UBC’s Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) project. Carolyn is the author of six books, including Home Truths: Fixing Canada’s Housing Crisis.

Topics Covered:

• National Housing Strategy gaps — why affordability targets weren’t tied to income and why major programs missed low-income households.
• Human-rights-based targets — setting goals by income quintiles and using UBC’s HART tools for consistent measurement.
• Scaling housing supply — building 500,000 homes annually, including 200,000 non-market units, half of which for very-low-income households.
• Financing solutions — the Build Canada Homes proposal, investing 2% of GDP ($40B/year) in housing as infrastructure.
• Global lessons — how countries like Finland, France, Austria, and Singapore addressed housing need and reduced homelessness with sustained public investment.

Studies referenced:

• Scaling up affordable housing through a ‘Build Canada Homes’ proposal — Maytree Foundation (September 2025)
• Human Rights-Based Housing Targets and Mechanisms for Canada — Office of the Federal Housing Advocate (September 2025)
• A Human Rights-Based Calculation of Canada’s Housing Supply Shortages — Office of the Federal Housing Advocate (November 2023)
• Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis — UBC Press (October 2024)

Production:

• Producers: Tristan Markle, Lina Moskaleva, and CJ Tremblay
• Sound and original music: Matthew Hayter, matthewhaytermusic.com
• This podcast is a project of The Publication Cooperative
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