Biography - Marie-Josée Houle

Ms. Houle was appointed as Canada’s first Federal Housing Advocate in 2022, marking a new chapter in a career defined by her work in the affordable housing and homelessness sector. Ms. Houle is an experienced leader who is recognized for her community activism, expertise in human rights, and extensive knowledge of the housing and homelessness system.

Prior to her appointment as Canada’s first Federal Housing Advocate, Ms. Houle held a number of roles that inform her broad experience, including frontline work in housing coops, consulting and project management for affordable housing development, by-law review, housing-related research projects, developing educational programs for housing co-ops and non-profits, and senior leadership roles.

She has been actively involved in advocacy work at a national, provincial and community level. She has advocated for tenant rights and the non-profit housing sector at all three levels of government. She has worked with diverse partners in the sector to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, improve efficiencies, influence key opinion leaders, leverage strategic partnerships, and address gaps and human rights violations related to housing and access to housing. Building a sense of community among diverse partners is particularly important to her.